Satellite Launch news

I am posting today the news of two launches. The first one is the launch of Inmarsat 5F1 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.. A Proton Breeze rocket successfully took off to place an Inmarsat-5F1 satellite into a geo-stationary transfer orbit. This satellite is the   first of three Inmarsat next-generation Global Xpress satellites scheduled to be launched  before the end of 2014. The spacecraft was launched belongs to Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services.  

The Proton launch vehicle  lifted off from  Baikonur Cosmodrome yesterday at 18:12 local time (12:12 GMT and 07:12 EST) , carrying the I-5 F1 satellite.  The mission placed the satellite in a circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit. The satellite will finally be transferred to a 65,000 km-apogee super-synchronous transfer orbit. The mission took 15-hour, 31-minute to get to the target orbit.

The satellite built by Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc. weighs over 6 metric tons. The craft has been built with 89 Ka-band fixed beams and 6 steerable ones. The satellite generates about 15 kilowatts of power at the start of service and around 13.8 kilowatts at the end of its 15-year design life. The spacecraft's two solar wings employ five panels of ultra-triple-junction solar cells.

The launch also marks the 392 nd flight of the Proton launcher since its maiden flight in 1965. The Proton is a product of Khrunichev Research and Production Space Center of Moscow

The next launch news is Atlas V from Vandenberg AFB

An Atlas V rocket launched a National Reconnaissance Office payload on Thursday, from Vandenberg AFB. Also rode piggy-backed was a Southcom sponsored Nano satellite. This Nano satellite, if objectives were met, could pave way to less expensive and reliable communication solutions to troops stationed around the world.

The Nano satellite is said to be weighing 11 pounds. Ground troops may be able to use this technology from their field radios. If all goes well two more Nanosatellites may be launched next year.