Sea Launch liftoff time for the DIRECTV 7S spacecraft on May 4th has been updated to 5:42 a.m. PDT (12:42 GMT) to accommodate availability of the TDRSS (NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System).
Sea Launch uses the TDRSS to acquire telemetry from the Zenit-3SL launch vehicle during flight. Liftoff remains well within the mission's two-hour launch window, which opens at 5:22 a.m. PDT (12:22 GMT).
All operations are proceeding on schedule at the launch site on the Equator. The Sea Launch Commander is now safely stationed three miles from the Odyssey Launch Platform for the final hours of the launch countdown. The launch vehicle now stands erect on the launch pad in preparation for launch.
The Zenit-3SL vehicle will lift the 5,483 kg (12,063 lb.) DIRECTV 7S satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position at 119 degrees West Longitude. Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) at their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, Calif., the 1300-series spacecraft is one of several high capacity direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast satellites SS/L has produced for DIRECTV, the leading U.S. digital television provider.
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Sea Launch Sets Sail for DirecTV Mission
Long Beach - Apr 26, 2004
The Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander departed Sea Launch Home Port last week for the equatorial launch site in the Pacific Ocean. Sea Launch is preparing to launch the DIRECTV 7S broadcast satellite for DIRECTV, Inc., on May 4, at the opening of a two-hour launch window, at 5:22 am PDT (12:22:00 GMT).
