Scott Nicholas
Lockheed Martin has encapsulated an EchoStar broadband satellite into a launch vehicle fairing platform ahead of a scheduled Dec. 18 launch aboard United Launch Alliance‘s Atlas V 431 rocket.
The EchoStar XIX satellite was connected to an adapter and enclosed in a “nose cone” as part of the encapsulation, Lockheed said Monday.
Lockheed secured a contract in August 2015 to provide launch support services to EchoStar.
Steve Skladanek, president of Lockheed’s commercial launch services business, said the company aims to send the the satellite into orbit with the Atlas rocket.
EchoStar XIX will be delivered via truck to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for integration with the launch vehicle, Lockheed noted.
Space Systems Loral designed and built the satellite to provide satellite internet service to North American customers of HughesNet.
