International Launch Services

International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) is a company that has special permission to sell commercial launches using two important rockets: the Angara and the Proton rocket. These launches help send satellites and other spacecraft into orbit, which is important for communication, weather forecasting, and exploring space.

The Proton rocket launches from a special spaceport called the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Angara rocket, on the other hand, is launched from two different spaceports in Russia: Plesetsk and Vostochny Cosmodrome. These launches are part of how countries and companies get important tools into space.

Ownership

ILS started in 1995 as a partnership between Lockheed Martin, Khrunichev, and Energia. At first, it helped arrange non-military launches using both American Atlas and Russian Proton rockets.

By April 2006, ILS had completed 100 launches, with 97 of them going well. Later that year, Lockheed Martin decided to sell its share in ILS to a new company called Space Transport Inc. This sale finished in October 2006. Lockheed Martin kept the rights to market the Atlas rockets but stopped working with ILS. ILS then focused only on selling Proton launches.

In May 2008, a Russian company called Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center bought all of Space Transport’s share and became the main owner of ILS. ILS stayed an American company with its office in Reston, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.. In April 2019, ILS and Glavkosmos agreed to work more closely together to better serve their customers.

Proton launches

Main articles: Proton (rocket) and List of Proton launches

See also: Space launch market competition

In May 2008, ILS had many orders for launches, about 22, worth around US$2 billion. By June 2009, they had even more orders. The 50th launch happened in early 2009.

By January 2014, ILS had orders for 14 launches worth over US$1 billion, with plans for up to 6 launches that year. Many of these payloads were too heavy for other rockets like the Falcon 9 v1.1, so Proton was a good choice.

However, by 2018, Proton launches became less frequent. There were no commercial launches in 2018 and only two in 2019. This was because new launch companies like SpaceX appeared, and there were some problems with Proton launches. Most big satellite launches now go to SpaceX and Arianespace.

Proton’s last commercial mission was on 9 October 2019, sending Eutelsat 5 West B and MEV-1 into space.

Atlas launches

After October 2006, ILS stopped offering Atlas launches and focused only on the Proton launch vehicle. The first Atlas launch was the Atlas IIAS carrying Intelsat 704 on January 10, 1995, and the last was the Atlas V carrying Astra 1KR on April 20, 2006.

Angara launches

In July 2015, ILS started selling the Angara rocket to commercial customers. Their first commercial Angara mission was expected to launch no earlier than 2023, carrying Kompsat 6, an Earth observation satellite operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. However, the satellite is now planned to be launched by the Vega-C launch vehicle.