Tim Furniss/LONDON
Six launches over seven days have resulted in the orbiting of nine satellites: four Globalstars, the Echostar V, Telstar 7, Ikonos 2, LM-1 and the Resurs F1M.
The burst of activity started with a Starsem Soyuz launch from Baikonur on 22 September, which placed four Loral-built Globalstar worldwide mobile telecommunications satellites into 52¼-inclination 920km orbits. The successful launch brings to 40 the number of Globalstars in space.
The launch of Space Systems' Loral-built Echostar V from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 23 September marked a return to flight of the Lockheed Martin Atlas fleet. The fleet had been grounded over concerns about its RL-10 engines after the failure of one on a Boeing Delta III in May. Echostar's launcher was an Atlas IIAS operated by International Launch Services (ILS).
Space Imaging's Ikonos commercial high-resolution remote sensing satellite was launched into polar orbit by a Lockheed Athena 2 booster from Vandenberg AFB, California, on 25 September. The first Ikonos launch failed this year.
The new satellite, operated by the Lockheed Martin-led consortium, will be able to return 1m-resolution images. Most of these can be sold to commercial users, including urban planners, environmentalists, mappers, those assessing natural disasters, the oil industry and communications network planners.
The circulation of some sensitive images will be restricted for security reasons.
Arianespace launched an Ariane 42P from Kourou on the same day as the Ikonos, carrying the Space Systems/Loral-built Telstar 7 satellite that was to have flown on the maiden flight of the delayed Atlas IIIA operated by rival ILS. The 3,800kg (8,400lb) Telstar, operated by Loral Skynet, was built by Space Systems Loral and launched "at very short notice", according to Arianespace. The next Arianespace launch is due on 19 October.
A Proton K booster operated by ILS was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 26 September, carrying the Lockheed Martin-Intersputnik communications satellite into orbit. The satellite will provide services to Africa, Asia, the CIS and eastern and central Europe.
It was the first ILS Proton launch since the Proton M maiden flight failure on 5 July, although there has been one national Proton K flight since then, carrying two Yamal communications satellites.
Another Soyuz U booster was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 28 September, carrying the second uprated Resurs F1M remote sensing satellite to monitor the earth's resources.
• Russia is to transfer some space programmes from its Kazakhstan-based Baikonur Cosmodrome to its Plesetsk national launch centre. Communications, weather and space station ferry flights will be launched from there, as well as some formerly Baikonur-launched military missions.
Source: Flight International
