MUMBAI: International Launch Services (ILS) will launch the DIRECTV 8 satellite next year on a Proton M/Breeze M vehicle. It signed a new contract with DirecTV. The financial details were not disclosed.
 

ILS president Mark Albrecht added, "The Proton vehicle is the workhorse of the launch industry. This year it could have as many as 10 missions for ILS and the Russian government combined. This will be the third DirecTV satellite to launch on an ILS vehicle."

The DirecTV 2 satellite was launched on an Atlas rocket in 1994. DIRECTV 5 was carried by a Proton rocket in May 2002. The DIRECTV 8 satellite is a 1300 model built by Space Systems/Loral and is similar to DirecTV 5.