Washington, DC, – September 19, 1997 – Just twelve weeks after its
introduction at the Paris Air Show, Lockheed Martin has sold the first unit of the new upgraded Proton M booster using the advanced Breeze M upper stage. The Intelsat Board of Governors announced Wednesday Intelsat had selected the Proton M/Breeze M launcher to lift the Intelsat 901 spacecraft. The contract award marks the first-ever Intelsat use of Russian launcher, and is the result of months of negotiations and discussions between Intelsat representatives and International Launch Services (ILS), the launch marketing arm of Lockheed Martin. The flight is to take place between May and August 2000. Sources report that Intelsat has optioned the Proton M configuration for additional launch opportunities in the post-2000 time frame.
