The Proton K rocket, built by Khrunichev, lifted off on time at 4:04 a.m. today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (6:04 p.m. Monday EST, 2304 Monday GMT). All three stages of the Proton vehicle performed normally.

The Block DM upper stage, built by RSC Energia, performed its first burn as planned and reached a circular parking orbit of 175. 5 km (109 miles). Preliminary flight information indicates that the second burn of the Block DM upper stage did not occur as planned, and the ASTRA 1K satellite was separated into the parking orbit.

"We extend our sincerest condolences to SES-ASTRA and SES-GLOBAL for the apparent failure of the Block DM to place the ASTRA 1K satellite into the proper orbit," said ILS President Mark Albrecht.

"We have a long history of success with the SES-GLOBAL family of companies - SES was the first commercial customer on Proton. We have several missions next year with SES companies, and we are committed to providing timely, reliable service."

SES ASTRA Release Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links ILS Launch SES Americom SES GLOBAL SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com Memory Foam Mattress Review SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News LAUNCH PAD Soyuz To Launch Radarsat-2 Evry, France (SPX) Jan 11, 2006 Starsem announced Monday the signing of a contract with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) for the launch of MDA's RADARSAT-2 Earth observation satellite by a Soyuz launch vehicle.