DISH files SEC form 8-K with AMC-14 Comments

**Poke** · 03-17-2008 09:32 AM

Well since this has happen maybe Dish will stop dragging their feet and turn on what HD they can until they get this worked out..

**Scott Greczkowski** · 03-17-2008 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by ScoBuck

Reported this morning from the President of SES Americaom:

Edward Horowitz, President and CEO of SES Americom, added the satellite network operator is "confident" the engineering teams at Lockheed Martin and SES will find a way to place AMC-14 into the correct orbit.

EETimes.com - Inmarsat postpones satellite launch after Proton launcher failure

Damn Scobuck...

You are looking to earn the SatelliteGuys Gold Star today. Good Job finding all of this.

**gilmoreisu** · 03-17-2008 09:35 AM

Thanks for the information. Good catch.

**ScoBuck** · 03-17-2008 09:36 AM

Hey - I am a space geek - much more so than a TV geek. I have always been into spaceflight.

**nlk10010** · 03-17-2008 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by ScoBuck

Reported this morning from the President of SES Americaom:

Edward Horowitz, President and CEO of SES Americom, added the satellite network operator is "confident" the engineering teams at Lockheed Martin and SES will find a way to place AMC-14 into the correct orbit.

-snip-

Interesting, and (IMHO) totally unexpected.

Have there been similar incidents; i.e. have there been satellites launched that were intact but fell 5-10000km short of their orbit? What eventually happened to them? I'm aware of the one or two sats that have been brought up in other threads but AFAIK those never really ended up being used for their intended purpose.

**navychop** · 03-17-2008 09:38 AM

< approaches dead horse with stick >

The Russian Proton is one of the most heavily used, most reliable unmanned launchers ever made, with over 325 launches.

Sea Launch also uses Russian launchers.

One of the two "latest and greatest" U.S. satellite launchers uses rocket engines based on (almost identical to) a Russian design.

Russian space hardware, especially launchers, is excellent.

< horse hamburger, anyone? >

**nlk10010** · 03-17-2008 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by Scott Greczkowski

There is no such thing as back up engines. Weight is everything for those launches. The engines used have been some of the most reliable ones available. I don't see an American made engine being any better (or worse) then what was used.

-snip-

Scott, I understand what you're intending to say but are you actually saying that second stages repeatedly fail on all rocket launches? Are you saying that (I believe) 5 failures of roughly the same type with the Brieze-M still qualifies it as "reliable" or at least as reliable as any US or other type of booster? If that were the case my guess is we'd see a lot more shuttle launches fail to reach orbit.

**Poke** · 03-17-2008 09:44 AM

Well if they can get it in orbit that would be great and from what I understand that would shorten its lifespan. But it should give them enough time to build a replacement if I'm not mistaken..

**ScoBuck** · 03-17-2008 09:46 AM

I know the eventual fate of AMC-14 is the hottest topic right now, and rightfully so, but the events of Friday just may have some much longer lasting consequences.

We already read in the article I posted that Immarsat took action to postpone their launch, before ILS made any such launch delay announcement.

From my reading E13 (for use in Asia) and Ciel-2 (for DISH lease in the U.S.) are currently on the ILS launch list for this year. I would suspect that unlike the relatively short delay that ILS had from the JCSAT mishap, this time the delay could be well over the 9-12 month range as a critical look is taken at the upper stage hardware among other items.

All of this and the long time (6+ months) it would take to get AMC-14 into proper orbit (if in fact it is possible to do) means that DISH plans for this year will have to be altered greatly. I would think that they may have to seek alternative methods of launch (Land Launch is one possibility, I believe they some farily early availibility.

**hrxtreme** · 03-17-2008 09:48 AM

Makes me, at least, wonder what kind of deal is being made here to ensure full compensation is still given to SES. I've so much speculation of maybe insurance will pay part of it or maybe they will pay it and then salvage it but I am actually curious to see how that end does pan out. But if they can place it in orbit where it is supposed to be and it buys time for a new sat, and gives people what they want, then a small 'delay' as this form calls out is well worth it. I'd think they'd want to move it as quick as possible if there were going to.