[Satellite Today – 3-15-08] An SES Americom AMC-14 satellite failed to reach its planned orbit after a Proton rocket suffered a second stage failure, Khrunichev and International Launch Services (ILS) announced March 15.
   
    The Proton Breeze M rocket lifted off for the ILS commercial mission at 5:18 a.m. local time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and preliminary information indicates that the anomaly occurred during the second burn of the Breeze M upper stage.
The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, was slated to provide advanced broadcast satellite service for SES Americom’s Americom2Home service as well as for EchoStar’s Dish Network direct-to-home entertainment service.
A Russian State Commission already is looking into the failure, and ILS will form its own Failure Review Oversight Board to review commission’s final report and corrective action plan.
   
    In September, a damaged pyro firing cable caused the failure of a Proton vehicle carrying JSAT Corp.‘s JCSAT-11 satellite, but a pair of Proton missions had been performed since. In October, a Russian government mission placed three Glonass satellites in orbit, and in November, an ILS mission orbited the Sirius 4 satellite for SES Sirius.