The Proton M launch vehicle, utilising a 5-burn Breeze M mission design, will lift off from Pad 24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on June 8, with the EchoStar XXI satellite on board.
EchoStar XXI is an S-band satellite designed to provide mobile connectivity throughout Europe. The spacecraft, based on SSL’s 1300 bus, will be located at the 10.25 degrees East orbital slot. EchoStar subsidiary EchoStar Mobile Limited, an EU-wide licensee for an integrated mobile satellite servicenetwork with a complementary ground component, will utilise a portion of the capacity on EchoStar XXI to provision its next-generation, all IP-enabled mobile communications network. The new satellite features a large unfurlable reflector that will deploy like an umbrella after the satellite is in orbit.
The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent profile to place the orbital unit (Breeze M upper stage and the EchoStar XXI 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 nearly circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit, followed by a transfer orbit, and finally to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Separation of the EchoStar XXI satellite is scheduled to occur approximately 9 hours, 13 minutes after liftoff.
