Proton Failure Forces ILS To Lower Launch Prices

摘要

International Launch Services (ILS) on March 18 said it has been forced to reduce prices in the wake of its December failure in order to accommodate customers paying higher insurance premiums to use ILS's Proton heavy-lift rocket. ILS said it hopes that its prices will recover as the Reston, Va.-based company proceeds with six planned launches between March and August and reestablishes its credibility among customers. In a press briefing here during the Satellite 2013 conference, ILS President Philip R. Slack said the three failures of Russian Proton rockets in the past two years have caused insurers to bump up their rates for commercial Proton launches.