JCSAT-11 Launch Failure Follow-Up: Info Releases From ILS, Khrunichev & JSAT

ILS Declares Proton Launch Anomaly




Khrunichev and International Launch Services regret to announce the failure of the Proton launch vehicle to put the JCSAT-11 satellite into proper orbit for JSAT Corporation. The Proton Breeze M rocket launcher failed to inject JCSAT-11 into orbit due to an anomaly in second-stage operation.



A Russian State Commission is in the process of determining the reasons for the anomaly. ILS will release details when data become available. A copy of the official statement released by Khrunichev, which manufactures the Proton, will also be made available upon translation. In parallel with the State Commission, ILS will form its own Failure Review Oversight Board. The FROB will review the commission’s final report and corrective action plan, in accord with U.S. and Russian government export control regulations.



ILS remains committed to providing reliable, timely launch services for all its customers. To this end, ILS will work diligently with its partner Khrunichev to return Proton to flight as soon as possible.





Proton Launch Vehicle Fails to Place JCSAT -11 Telecommunication Satellite Into Orbit—Khrunichev Press Release




The Proton Breeze M rocket carrying JSAT Corp.’s of Japan JCSAT-11 telecommunications satellite lifted off at 2:43 Moscow Time, 6 September from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Proton launcher failed to inject the satellite into orbit due to an anomaly in second-stage operation. Khrunichev expresses its regret to JSAT Corp. and all partners involved in the mission.




The launch was carried out under the auspices of International Launch Services, a joint venture of Space Transport Inc., Khrunichev and RSC Energia set up to provide marketing, sales and mission management for Proton launches.




Shortly after the failure Russian State Agency formed a State Commission to investigate the anomaly and report on the results of its findings. The commission will determine the causes of the launch failure and work up its recommendations for a corrective action plan to prevent such anomalies in the future.



Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center — the Moscow-based designer and manufacturer of Proton launch vehicle — remains committed to fulfill in timely and efficient manner its obligations under the framework of federal programs and international agreements. To this end, Khrunichev will work to return Proton Breeze M to safe flight as soon as possible.



Proton Breeze M is an upgraded version of the principal heavy-lift vehicle in Russia’s space program, the Proton. With 40 years of its flight history and overall record of over 325 launches, Proton is among the world’s most reliable launch vehicles and has been widely used to insert governmental and commercial payloads into near- Earth orbits and escape trajectories.



Proton Breeze M version, operational since April 2001, is characterized by high power capacity and improved performance. The JCSAT 11 mission was the 17th Proton Breeze M flight overall. Under ILS auspices, Proton Breeze M has carried out 16 commercial missions out of which just two missions resulted in failure, since its inaugural commercial flight in 2002.




The Word From JSAT Regarding Failed Sat & Replacement Ordered


The President and CEO of JSAT Corporation, Kiyoshi Isozaki, reported the failure of the attempted launch of its JCSAT-11 communications satellite and an in-depth investigation Is underway to determine the cause. He added, “This satellite was launched as a successor to an in-orbit backup satellite. The failure does not affect the communications and broadcasting services currently offered. At the moment, the impact of the announced incidents on the consolidated results of JSAT is expected to be negligible, given that the satellite and launch costs are covered by satellite launch insurance.”



He also announced that the company ordered the same model of satellite (A2100AX platform) as JCSAT-11 from manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corporation on the same day as the launch mishap. Delivery of this new, replacement satellite is expected during the summer of 2009. International Launch Services, Inc., the launch service provider, has informed JSAT the cause of the launch failure of JCSAT-11 was an anomaly in the second stage of the Proton Breeze M launch vehicle—Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo