This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ILS Launches Hellas-Sat on Atlas V
65 Successes in a Row for Atlas


CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., May 13, 2003 - An Atlas V
rocket placed the Hellas-Sat satellite into orbit this evening,
marking the 65th consecutive successful flight for Atlas, its builder
Lockheed Martin and mission provider International Launch Services
(ILS).

This was the second launch in the Atlas V series, Lockheed Martin's
powerful current-generation vehicle. It lifted off at 6:10 p.m. EDT
(22:10 GMT), placing the Hellas-Sat spacecraft in a supersynchronous
transfer orbit 31 minutes later. Satellite controllers have confirmed
that the Hellas-Sat spacecraft is functioning properly.

The Atlas V rocket placed the satellite into a nearly perfect
transfer orbit: apogee of 85,458 km (target was 85,554 km), perigee
of 312.2 km (target was 312 km), and an inclination right on target
at 17.06 degrees. 

Hellas-Sat is the first telecommunications satellite for Greece and
Cyprus. The satellite is an Astrium Eurostar 2000+ model that will
provide voice, video, data and broadcast services over Europe,
Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

"We appreciate the confidence Hellas-Sat has placed in ILS and Atlas
to deliver this important satellite," said ILS President Mark
Albrecht. "We congratulate the Atlas team for its dedication to 100
percent Mission Success, making this the 65th flawless launch in a
row."

"Our thanks to ILS and the very reliable Atlas for placing our
satellite into orbit," said Christodoulos Protopapas, CEO of
Hellas-Sat Consortium Ltd. of Nicosia, Cyprus. George Argyropoulos,
Chairman & CEO of Hellas-Sat S.A. of Athens, Greece, said, "We look
forward to using this satellite to broadcast next year's Summer
Olympic events from Athens." 

The Atlas V family is designed to lift payloads up to nearly 8,700 kg
to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). It was developed both for ILS
commercial missions and to meet the U.S. Air Force requirements for
the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV). The Atlas V
incorporates state-of-the-art designs, materials and processes,
including the throttleable, Russian-built RD-180 engine, the first
variable-thrust main engine to power a U.S. expendable launch
vehicle.

ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. in the United States,
with Russian companies Khrunichev State Research and Production Space
Center and RSC Energia. ILS provides launch services on the Atlas and
the Russian Proton vehicles to customers worldwide. The company is
based in McLean, Va., near Washington, D.C.

ILS offers the broadest range of launch services in the world along
with products with the highest reliability in the industry. ILS'
Atlas rockets and their Centaur upper stages are built by Lockheed
Martin Space Systems Co. - Astronautics Operations, at facilities in
Denver, Colo.; Harlingen, Texas; and San Diego, Calif. The
three-stage Proton and the available Breeze M upper stage are
produced by Khrunichev at its factory near Moscow. 

# # #

Contact: Fran Slimmer, International Launch Services; mobile:
1-646-229-4801; fran.slimmer{at}lmco.com
#03-16

 - END OF FILE -
==========

@Message posted automagically by IMTHINGS POST 1.30
---