The international Sea Launch team is counting down to a 44-minute launch window that will open at 6:56am PDT (13:56 GMT) June 10 for the launch of the Thuraya-2 communications satellite. The team will launch the Boeing GEM (GEO-mobile) satellite for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Sea Launch vessels, the Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander, arrived at the launch site on June 5.
The platform is now ballasted to its launch depth in preparation for launch, providing a stable environment for both marine and launch operations. The Sea Launch Commander is currently stationed alongside the Odyssey and will be connected to the platform by a link bridge during launch preparations. Prior to launch, the link bridge will retract and the ship will move to a position three miles from the platform. All marine crew and launch personnel will be stationed on the ship throughout launch operations.
Sea Launch's three-stage Zenit-3SL rocket will lift the 5,117 kg (11,413 lb) spacecraft to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. In its final orbital position, the satellite will be positioned in Geosynchronous Orbit, 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above the Earth, at 44 degrees East Longitude, inclined at 6.3 degrees, the optimum location for Thuraya operations.
Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS), based in El Segundo, Calif., built the spacecraft. In addition to Thuraya's first satellite, BSS also designed and built the ground system and supplied user handsets for the Thuraya network, which provides mobile voice and data communication services to a region of more than 100 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North and Central Africa, and Central and South Asia. In October 2000, Sea Launch successfully placed Thuraya-1 - at 5,108 kg (11,260 lb), the heaviest commercial spacecraft ever launched - into orbit. Thuraya-2 is designed to further support Thuraya's regional mobile communications services, including voice, fax and data.
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Sea Launch counts down to Thuraya-2 launch on June 10
- Monday, June 09 - 2003 at 09:25
- PRESS RELEASE
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All systems are progressing as planned for the Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander, now positioned at the launch site on the Equator, where a countdown is underway for a June 10 launch.
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Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News EditorMonday, June 09 - 2003 at 09:25 UAE local time (GMT+4)
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Notes and Media Contacts »
Sea Launch will provide a live satellite broadcast and webcast of the Thuraya-2 mission on June 10, beginning at 6:35am PDT. The launch broadcast, featuring live video from the launch site as well as commentary and interviews, may be down linked from satellite coordinates posted at the following site: www.boeing.com/nosearch/sealaunch/broadcast.html
A simultaneous live webcast will be posted at:
www.sea-launch.com/special/sea-launch/current_index_webcast.html
Sea Launch Company, LLC, based in Long Beach, Calif., provides reliable, cost effective, heavy lift launch services for commercial satellite customers. The international partners include the Boeing Commercial Space Company (U.S.), RSC Energia (Russia), SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash (Ukraine) and the Kvaerner Group (Norway). The world's only system launching from the Equator, Sea Launch offers the optimal starting point for spacecraft heading to Geostationary Orbit. With the advantage of a 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 currently has a current backlog of 16 firm launch contracts. For additional information and images, visit the Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com.
Contact:
Paula Korn, 562.499.4729 or 562.254.5684 (cell)
On the morning of Launch Day only:
Dan Beck, 562.951.7417 or 562.951.7418
SATELLITE INFORMATION & SCHEDULE FOR: United States
Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Time: 0835 - 1200 EDT apx 30 (0835-0936 ET = TEST / 0935 - 1150 ET = Live/1150 ET+ = VNRs)
Satellite: AMC-3 Ku band
Transponder: 18 (eighteen) analog
Orbital Position: 87 degrees West
Uplink Frequency: 14360.00 Horizontal
Downlink Frequency: 12060.00 Vertical
Audios: 6.2 subcarrier = English, 6.8 subcarrier = Arabic
Standard: 525 NTSC
SATELLITE INFORMATION & SCHEDULE FOR: Europe and Middle East
Test Date: Friday, 6 June 2003
1000-1030 GMT (test from BT London)
Test Date: Monday, 9 June 2003
1100-1130 GMT (test from BT London)
Day of Air: Tuesday, 10 June 2003
1235 - 1550 GMT apx 30 (1235-1336 GMT = Test / 1336-1550 GMT = Live / 1550 GMT + = VNRs)
Satellite: Eutelsat W-1
Transponder: B4 Lower Channel 4
Orbital Slot: 10 Degrees East
Uplink Frequency: 14370.5 Horizontal
Downlink Frequency: 11070.5 Vertical
Format: NDS 4.2.0
Symbol Rate: 5.632
FEC Rate: 3/4
Audios: Channel 1 = English, Channel 2 = Arabic
Standard: 625 PAL
A simultaneous live webcast will be posted at:
www.sea-launch.com/special/sea-launch/current_index_webcast.html
Sea Launch Company, LLC, based in Long Beach, Calif., provides reliable, cost effective, heavy lift launch services for commercial satellite customers. The international partners include the Boeing Commercial Space Company (U.S.), RSC Energia (Russia), SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash (Ukraine) and the Kvaerner Group (Norway). The world's only system launching from the Equator, Sea Launch offers the optimal starting point for spacecraft heading to Geostationary Orbit. With the advantage of a 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 currently has a current backlog of 16 firm launch contracts. For additional information and images, visit the Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com.
Contact:
Paula Korn, 562.499.4729 or 562.254.5684 (cell)
On the morning of Launch Day only:
Dan Beck, 562.951.7417 or 562.951.7418
SATELLITE INFORMATION & SCHEDULE FOR: United States
Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Time: 0835 - 1200 EDT apx 30 (0835-0936 ET = TEST / 0935 - 1150 ET = Live/1150 ET+ = VNRs)
Satellite: AMC-3 Ku band
Transponder: 18 (eighteen) analog
Orbital Position: 87 degrees West
Uplink Frequency: 14360.00 Horizontal
Downlink Frequency: 12060.00 Vertical
Audios: 6.2 subcarrier = English, 6.8 subcarrier = Arabic
Standard: 525 NTSC
SATELLITE INFORMATION & SCHEDULE FOR: Europe and Middle East
Test Date: Friday, 6 June 2003
1000-1030 GMT (test from BT London)
Test Date: Monday, 9 June 2003
1100-1130 GMT (test from BT London)
Day of Air: Tuesday, 10 June 2003
1235 - 1550 GMT apx 30 (1235-1336 GMT = Test / 1336-1550 GMT = Live / 1550 GMT + = VNRs)
Satellite: Eutelsat W-1
Transponder: B4 Lower Channel 4
Orbital Slot: 10 Degrees East
Uplink Frequency: 14370.5 Horizontal
Downlink Frequency: 11070.5 Vertical
Format: NDS 4.2.0
Symbol Rate: 5.632
FEC Rate: 3/4
Audios: Channel 1 = English, Channel 2 = Arabic
Standard: 625 PAL
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