Tweet   Unusual close-up footage of the Sirius FM5 carrying an American Communications Satellite being taken from the production facility to the launch pad where it’s readied for take-off (which IS NOT SHOWN hence the plastic covering on certain parts along with all the cars and personnel in the launch area) It's worth duplicating the info because of the impact this rocket and it's payload may have More.. on millions of people worldwide who use the service and have recievers in their cars.  Sirius FM5 is the fourth satellite the radio broadcaster has launched on Proton rockets. The company's three earlier spacecraft, all launched in 2000, operate in high-altitude elliptical orbits over the Earth's polar regions. This satellite will be in a geostationary orbit 'Our partnership with Sirius goes back many years, ILS has launched all of the Sirius satellites' said Frank McKenna, ILS president. 'It is an honor to be entrusted, once again, with the expansion of their satellite constellation, with the advanced technologies that the powerful Sirius FM5 satellite will provide'. Sirius FM5 will be positioned in geostationary orbit at 96 degrees west longitude, becoming the company's first satellite to be stationed there. It will provide radio-quality signals down to the continental U.S, Mexico and Canada, said Lincoln Day, executive director at Space Systems/Loral, the builder of the satellite. Sirius FM5 is based on Loral's 1300 satellite platform, which will produce 20 kilowatts of power at the end of its 15-year design life. Officials describe the craft as the most powerful digital audio satellite in space. 'This spacecraft is a backup and a replacement for the three Sirius satellites that are already in orbit' Day said. It will improve the quality of the services that are currently being provided and will also provide robustness for the constellation in case anything were to happen with the original three spacecraft. Sirius FM5 carrie...