Proton rocket set to launch satellite for Latin America

[Judi Lynn]

Proton rocket set to launch satellite for Latin America
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: February 11, 2010

A high-definition television broadcasting satellite for Latin America will take an out-of-this-world ride to orbit aboard a Proton rocket overnight Thursday.

The 5,401-pound Intelsat 16 satellite, now enclosed inside the Proton's nose cone, will spend up to 16 years providing HDTV news, sports and entertainment for SKY Mexico and SKY Brazil, local broadcasting subsidaries of DirecTV.

Built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Intelsat 16 carries 24 Ku-band transponders and two deployable antennas for its communications mission. The craft will be operated by Intelsat on behalf of SKY Mexico and SKY Brazil.

Intelsat 16 will double SKY Mexico's current capacity and serve as a backup for the SKY Brazil network.

After final processing and fueling, the spacecraft was bolted to its Proton rocket and Breeze M upper stage. On Monday, the rocket moved to pad 39 at Area 200 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and was lifted upright for final preflight checks.

The 184-foot-tall launcher is scheduled to blast off at 0039 GMT Thursday (7:39 p.m. EST Friday).

More:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/proton/is16/preview/