Posted: Thu, Aug 22, 2002, 9:05 AM ET (1305 GMT)
A Proton launch vehicle successfully placed the EchoStar 8 satellite into orbit early Thursday. The Proton-K lifted off at 1:15 am EDT (0515 GMT) and placed the spacecraft and the Block DM upper stage into a transfer orbit. The launch had been postponed the previous two days because of high winds, while spacecraft problems postponed the launch from its original June launch date. EchoStar 8 will be used to provide direct television broadcasting services from 110 degrees west longitude; it will be used with another nearby satellite, EchoStar 7, to provide television programming, including local channels, for the continental US as well as Hawaii and Alaska. The launch was the second in less than eight hours for International Launch Services, after the successful inaugural launch of the Atlas 5 Wednesday evening.
