Preparations for the first Proton mission of this year proceed as scheduled. A Proton is to orbit the 5000-kg Turkish TurkSat 4A satellite by mid-February.
Subject to the State Review Board’s decision, the Proton M/Breeze M/TurkSat 4A integrated launch vehicle (ILV) was rolled out of the Processing Facility to the Launch Complex earlier this morning.
ILV was erected on the pad and Khrunichev in collaboration with other space-industry companies started the Countdown Day One operations.
Prior to roll-out the Proton spent several days at the Fueling Shed. The vehicle was moved to this station on February 09 (on the completion of ILV integration and tests at Integration-and-Test Facility 92A-50) for loading the Breeze M low-pressure tanks with propellants.
The upcoming launch is scheduled for February 15.
Image credit – Khrunichev Space Center
