International Launch Services (ILS) has signed a contract with Eutelsat to launch the Alcatel Space-built Eutelsat W4 communications satellite on the first Atlas III series from Cape Canaveral. The mission is set for late March or early April.
ILS has been searching for a payload for the maiden flight of the Russian engine boosted rocket and there were suggestions that, after the experiences of the twice-failed Boeing Delta III, a dummy payload would fly on the Atlas IIIA.
The Eutelsat W4 was to have flown on an Ariane 5 in 1998, but was damaged in a factory accident. It will be placed in a geostationary orbit at 36°E.
The Atlas IIIA will be powered by the first Pratt & Whitney-Energomash RD-180 first stage engine, with a Centaur upper stage.
Source: Flight International