|
||
|
Sea Launch Begins Countdown for NSS-8 Launch |
||
|
LONG BEACH, Calif., Jan. 24, 2007/Satnews Daily/ ― The Sea Launch team has initiated a 72-hour countdown at its equatorial launch site on Tuesday, in preparation for the launch of the NSS-8 communications satellite for SES New Skies on Friday, January 26 (changed from January 25). Liftoff is planned at the opening of a 37-minute window, beginning at 3:22 pm Pacific Standard Time (23:22 GMT).
Sea Launch said launch operations are now underway at the Equator, at 154 degrees West Longitude. The Sea Launch Commander is positioned alongside the Odyssey Launch Platform, with the two vessels periodically connected by a link bridge that facilitates the teams' foot traffic. A day before liftoff, the Zenit-3SL rocket will be erected on the launch pad for final tests on the launch system and the spacecraft, prior to start of the terminal countdown.
During final preparations for liftoff, the platform will be evacuated, with all personnel positioned on the ship, three miles uprange from the platform. At launch, the rocket will lift the 5,920 kg (13,051 lb) spacecraft to geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital location of 57 degrees East Longitude.
The high-power, state-of-the-art NSS-8 satellite is a Boeing 702 spacecraft that carries 56 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders. It is designed to replace the existing NSS-703 satellite as the centerpiece of New Skies’ strategic Indian Ocean contribution to SES' global communications network.
NSS-8 will support a wide range of functions, including corporate communications, government and military networks, Broadband Internet services and broadcast applications, to countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Asia. Designed for a 15-year lifespan, the satellite will have 18 kilowatts of total power at the beginning of life on orbit.
Recent Stories: Boeing Transfers 25th Payload Accommodations Package to Sea Launch |
||
