Proton launches DirecTV satellite
Posted: Sat, Jul 7, 2007, 8:16 AM ET (1216 GMT)
An upgraded Proton rocket successfully launched a television broadcasting satellite for DirecTV early Saturday. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:16 pm EDT Friday (0116 GMT, 7:16 am local time Saturday) and placed the DirecTV 10 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit approximately nine hours later. The spacecraft, a Boeing 702 model, weighs 5,900 kilograms and carries 131 Ka-band transponders. The satellite will operate from 102.8 degrees west in GEO, where it will be used by satellite TV company DirecTV to provide high-definition television programming for customers in the US. The launch was the first for the "enhanced" version of the Proton, featuring a number of design changes to reduce the vehicle's mass and thus increase its payload capacity; DirecTV 10 is the heaviest GEO spacecraft launched by a Proton.
An upgraded Proton rocket successfully launched a television broadcasting satellite for DirecTV early Saturday. The Proton M lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:16 pm EDT Friday (0116 GMT, 7:16 am local time Saturday) and placed the DirecTV 10 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit approximately nine hours later. The spacecraft, a Boeing 702 model, weighs 5,900 kilograms and carries 131 Ka-band transponders. The satellite will operate from 102.8 degrees west in GEO, where it will be used by satellite TV company DirecTV to provide high-definition television programming for customers in the US. The launch was the first for the "enhanced" version of the Proton, featuring a number of design changes to reduce the vehicle's mass and thus increase its payload capacity; DirecTV 10 is the heaviest GEO spacecraft launched by a Proton.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, February 9
Calling ET: Your chance to send a message to alien life
The Daily Telegraph — 7:42 am ET (1242 GMT) CU-equipped craft to launch on Wednesday
Denver Post — 7:41 am ET (1241 GMT) Crew inspects shuttle after launch, heads for space station
CNN — 7:40 am ET (1240 GMT) Endeavour Inspection Shows No Launch Damage
Central Florida News 13 — 7:40 am ET (1240 GMT) What's next? No rush. 'We've got plenty of time'
Huntsville Times — 7:40 am ET (1240 GMT) |