Early this morning, the Sea Launch Company successfully delivered the Galaxy 19 satellite to orbit from its ocean-based platform on the Equator. This is the international company’s fifth successful launch from sea in 2008.
A Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off at 2:28am PDT (9:28 GMT) from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude. Just over an hour later, the Block DM-SL upper stage inserted the 4,690 kg (10,340 lb) Galaxy 19 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Operators at the Hartebeesthoek ground station in South Africa acquired the spacecraft’s first signals from orbit shortly after spacecraft separation. All systems performed nominally throughout the mission.
“Congratulations to Intelsat and to Space Systems/Loral for this morning’s successful mission,” said Kjell Karlsen, president and general manager of Sea Launch. “We’re proud of our role in Intelsat’s continued success as the leading provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. This is our 8th successful mission for Intelsat and we look forward to many more. Also, I want to thank everyone at SS/L for their consistently professional work leading up to the successful completion of this mission.
“We’re very satisfied with today’s mission results. It is again my privilege to acknowledge and thank the Sea Launch partners, contractors and the entire team for another launch superbly executed.”
Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the 1300-series hybrid spacecraft carries a total of 52 physical transponders. The Galaxy 19 satellite will provide Intelsat customers valuable 50-state coverage, as well the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico. It will be located at 97 degrees West Longitude.
“Once operational, Galaxy 19 will host the largest international video programming platform in North America, providing distribution of news and entertainment to our customers who serve the ethnically diverse audience of this region. Likewise, Galaxy 19 will offer our government and network customers seamless data communications for years to come,” said David McGlade, Intelsat CEO. “This was our last launch of 2008, completely refreshing the capacity of Intelsat’s North American Galaxy Fleet.”
