Jacques van Oene
April 18th 05, 10:10 PM
Sea Launch Sets Sail for DIRECTV's Spaceway Mission
LONG BEACH, Calif. , April 18, 2005 - The Odyssey Launch Platform and the
Sea Launch Commander departed Sea Launch Home Port last week for Sea Launch'
s second mission of the year. The Sea Launch team is preparing to launch the
Spaceway F1 broadcast satellite for DIRECTV, Inc., on April 26, at the
opening of a half-hour launch window, at 12:31:30 am PDT ( 07:31:30 GMT).
The Sea Launch vessels are now sailing from Long Beach, Calif., to the
launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude. Upon arrival, the launch team
will initiate a 72-hour countdown, ballasting the Launch Platform to launch
depth, and performing final tests on the launch system and spacecraft. A
Zenit-3SL vehicle will lift the 6,080 kg (13,376 lbs.) Spaceway F1 satellite
to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) on its way to a final orbital
position at 102.8 degrees West Longitude.
The Boeing 702 model spacecraft, with a design life of 12 years, was
manufactured at Boeing's Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, Calif.
It includes a flexible payload with a fully steerable downlink antenna that
can be reconfigured on orbit to seamlessly address market conditions. It is
the most complex commercial satellite system that Boeing has ever built.
Spaceway F1, Sea Launch's third mission for DIRECTV, is one of four
Boeing-built Ka-band satellites that DIRECTV has scheduled for launch over
the next three years as part of an historic expansion of programming
capacity that will enable DIRECTV to deliver more than 1,500 local and
national High Definition channels and other advanced programming services to
consumers nationwide by 2007.
Sea Launch Company, LLC, headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and marketed
through Boeing Launch Services (see: www.boeing.com/launch ), is the world's
most reliable commercial launch services provider. With the advantage of the
only launch site on the Equator, the proven Zenit-3SL rocket can lift a
heavier spacecraft mass or provide longer life on orbit, offering best value
plus schedule assurance. Sea Launch offers the most direct and
cost-effective route to geostationary orbit. For additional information,
visit the Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com.
###
Contacts:
Paula Korn
562.499.4729 or 562.254.5684 (mobile)
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
LONG BEACH, Calif. , April 18, 2005 - The Odyssey Launch Platform and the
Sea Launch Commander departed Sea Launch Home Port last week for Sea Launch'
s second mission of the year. The Sea Launch team is preparing to launch the
Spaceway F1 broadcast satellite for DIRECTV, Inc., on April 26, at the
opening of a half-hour launch window, at 12:31:30 am PDT ( 07:31:30 GMT).
The Sea Launch vessels are now sailing from Long Beach, Calif., to the
launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude. Upon arrival, the launch team
will initiate a 72-hour countdown, ballasting the Launch Platform to launch
depth, and performing final tests on the launch system and spacecraft. A
Zenit-3SL vehicle will lift the 6,080 kg (13,376 lbs.) Spaceway F1 satellite
to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) on its way to a final orbital
position at 102.8 degrees West Longitude.
The Boeing 702 model spacecraft, with a design life of 12 years, was
manufactured at Boeing's Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, Calif.
It includes a flexible payload with a fully steerable downlink antenna that
can be reconfigured on orbit to seamlessly address market conditions. It is
the most complex commercial satellite system that Boeing has ever built.
Spaceway F1, Sea Launch's third mission for DIRECTV, is one of four
Boeing-built Ka-band satellites that DIRECTV has scheduled for launch over
the next three years as part of an historic expansion of programming
capacity that will enable DIRECTV to deliver more than 1,500 local and
national High Definition channels and other advanced programming services to
consumers nationwide by 2007.
Sea Launch Company, LLC, headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and marketed
through Boeing Launch Services (see: www.boeing.com/launch ), is the world's
most reliable commercial launch services provider. With the advantage of the
only launch site on the Equator, the proven Zenit-3SL rocket can lift a
heavier spacecraft mass or provide longer life on orbit, offering best value
plus schedule assurance. Sea Launch offers the most direct and
cost-effective route to geostationary orbit. For additional information,
visit the Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com.
###
Contacts:
Paula Korn
562.499.4729 or 562.254.5684 (mobile)
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info