The Sea Launch team has arrived at the launch site on the equator and has initiated a 72-hour countdown today in preparation for the launch of the DIRECTV 11 broadcast satellite on Monday, March 17th. Liftoff is planned at 3:49 pm PDT (22:49 GMT), at the opening of a 58-minute launch window. All systems are proceeding on schedule. With operations at the launch site now underway, the marine crew has ballasted the Odyssey Launch Platform to its launch depth for stability. The Sea Launch Commander will be stationed near the Odyssey throughout the weekend, occasionally connected by a link bridge that enables foot traffic between the two vessels. On the day before launch, the rocket will be rolled out of its environmentally-protected hangar on the platform and automatically erected on the launch pad. Before fueling begins, all personnel will evacuate the platform and transfer to the ship, which will be stationed about four miles uprange, throughout launch operations.
At launch, the Zenit-3SL vehicle will lift the 5,923 kg (13,058 lb) DIRECTV 11 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital location of 99.2 degrees West Longitude. DIRECTV 11 is one of three recent Boeing 702-model spacecraft built for DIRECTV and is among the largest and most powerful Ka-band satellites built to date. This is the fourth satellite Sea Launch will deploy for DIRECTV. Sea Launch will provide live coverage of the DIRECTV 11 mission via satellite and on the company website, beginning at 3:30 pm PDT (22:30 GMT) on March 17.
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