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Atlas 3 Launches EchoStar 7
Cape Canaveral - Feb. 21, 2002 The EchoStar 7 telecommunications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems for EchoStar Orbital Corporation, was launched successfully today from this seaside launch complex aboard an Atlas IIIB rocket provided by International Launch Services. Liftoff occurred at 7:43 a.m. EST and initial contact with the satellite, called acquisition of signal, was confirmed at 8:43 a.m. EST from the Lockheed Martin satellite tracking station in Uralla, Australia. "We are extremely proud of the capability we have demonstrated today in providing a total system solution for our valued customer EchoStar," said Ted Gavrilis, president, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems. "Atlas gave us a perfect ride and I commend our commercial space team for meeting our commitment to deliver a world class, high-performance spacecraft that will greatly enhance EchoStar's direct-to-home satellite TV service." The second flight of the Atlas III rocket taking the EchoStar 7 direct-broadcast satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, marked the 59th consecutive successful flight for the Atlas family. The Atlas III is part of the next generation of launch vehicles being offered by ILS, based in McLean, Va. This Atlas IIIB vehicle, designated AC-204, is also the sixth variant in the Atlas line. All Atlas variants have had successful inaugural flights, and those missions all have carried commercial customers. Both the Atlas vehicle and the A2100 satellite were built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. - the rocket by Astronautics Operations of Denver, Colo., and the spacecraft by Commercial Space Systems of Newtown, Pa. ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and two Russian companies, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia. ILS markets and manages the missions for the Atlas and the Russian Proton launch vehicles.
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