ILS’ Proton Sends Sirius Sounds Into The Stratosphere… Sirius FM-6 Launches

International Launch Services (ILS), a leader in providing mission integration and launch services to the global commercial satellite industry, successfully carried the Sirius FM-6 satellite, built by SSL, into orbit today on an ILS Proton for Sirius XM Radio Inc.

ILS Proton successfully placed the Sirius FM-6 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit for Sirius XM Radio on October 26, 2013. (Photo: Business Wire)

The ILS Proton Breeze M vehicle launched from Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 00:09 today local time (18:09 GMT and 14:09 EDT on October 25).  The first three stages of the Proton used a standard ascent profile to place the orbital unit (Breeze M upper stage and the Sirius FM-6 satellite) into a sub-orbital trajectory. From this point in the mission, the Breeze M performed planned mission maneuvers to advance the orbital unit first to a circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit, followed by a transfer orbit, and finally to a geostationary transfer orbit. Separation of the Sirius FM-6 satellite occurred approximately 9 hours and 11 minutes after liftoff.

The satellite, weighing over 6 metric tons, was built on the flight-proven SSL 1300 platform. This was the 6th satellite launched by ILS Proton for SiriusXM and the 27th SSL 1300 satellite launched.

Sirius FM-6 has an X-band uplink transponder and an S-band downlink transponder to deliver digital audio radio service. With approximately 20 Kw end-of-life power and an anticipated service life of 15 years, the Sirius FM-6 satellite is one of the most powerful satellites built today.  The final orbital location for the satellite will be 116.15 degrees west longitude.

This was the 390th launch for Proton since its maiden flight in 1965 and the 83rd ILS Proton Launch overall. The Proton Breeze M vehicle is developed and built by Khrunichev Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, Russia’s premier space industry manufacturer and majority shareholder in ILS.

Phil Slack, president of ILS commented, “For over a decade, SiriusXM has entrusted ILS Proton to deliver their satellites into orbit. It is a tremendous honor for ILS to have been a part of the satellite radio industry since 2000, with the launch of SiriusXM’s first generation fleet on ILS Proton within a 5 month period. Thank you to all of the teams that made this successful launch possible, including SiriusXM, SSL, Khrunichev, and ILS.”

ILS is a leader in providing launch services for global satellite operators and offers a complete array of services and support, from contract signing through mission management and on-orbit delivery.  ILS has exclusive rights to market the Proton vehicle to commercial satellite operators worldwide and is a U.S. company headquartered in Reston, VA., near Washington, D.C.  www.ilslaunch.com.

Image: SS/L, ILS

The mission was originally delayed from Sunday to Monday enabling teams to resolve an issue with a ground station in South Africa that is required for initial orbital operations of the Sirius FM-6 satellite. It was determined that more time was needed to resolve the issues and verify that the ground station network is ready to support the mission and initial communications acquisition, and the delay was at the request of the customer, Sirius.

Sirius FM-6 is a high-power geostationary satellite for SiriusXM, America’s largest radio broadcaster measured by revenue and one of the world’s largest pure-play audio entertainment companies. Sirius FM-6 will help with the delivery of commercial-free music, and premier sports, news, talk, entertainment and Latin programming, traffic and weather to more than 25 million subscribers. Sirius FM-6 will also help in the delivery of traffic and other data service information to markets across North America for vehicles with navigational systems. SiriusXM is installed in vehicles of every major automaker and available for sale at retail locations nationwide. Sirius FM-6 will ensure SiriusXM’s array of audio and data services are received by vehicles, mobile devices and home receivers and will play an important role in bolstering the continuity of service for years to come.

The Proton M launch vehicle, utilizing a 5-burn Breeze M mission design, will lift off from Pad 39 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, with the Sirius FM-6 satellite on board. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent profile to place the orbital unit (Breeze M upper stage and the Sirius FM-6 satellite) into a sub-orbital trajectory. From this point in the mission, the Breeze M will perform planned mission maneuvers to advance the orbital unit first to a circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit, followed by a transfer orbit, and finally to a geostationary transfer orbit. Separation of the Sirius FM-6 satellite is scheduled to occur approximately 9 hours, 11 minutes, and 20 seconds after liftoff.