Le Bourget, France – International Launch Services (ILS) and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (KhSC) conducted a media briefing during the 50th Paris Air Show, where 144 countries exhibited and over 350,000 visitors attended. The joint briefing focused on the KhSC and ILS partnership over 20 years serving the commercial launch industry. The discussion also centered on quality measures, Proton enhancements and new developments. Both Mr. Alexander Seliverstov, director general of KhSC and Phil Slack, president of ILS, provided a summary of the venture, then invited questions from the international media.
A Sustainable 20-Year Partnership
The 20 year ILS anniversary is marked by the establishment in 1993 of Lockheed-Khrunichev-Energia International (LKEI), the joint venture established to exclusively market the Russian Proton launch vehicle, later named International Launch Services. Bringing ILS into the KhSC fold–a longstanding leader in the advancement of global space programs–resulted in the “best of both worlds” combining the legacy of one of the world’s largest space production centers with the talent and experience of the ILS team.
