An
EchoStar 11 satellite launched atop its Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket on July 15,
2008 at the floating Launch Platform Odyssey in the Pacific Ocean.
The
5,511-ton satellite provides added capacity for high-definition digital
broadcast by Dish Network Corp., the second largest direct-to-home satellite
company in the U.S. behind Direct TV. EchoStar 11 has joined the company’s 14 other satellites
currently in orbit, after acquiring a signal 70 minutes from launch.
The
successful launch represents a reversal of fortune for Dish Network, which
suffered a failed March 17 launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. That
earlier attempt left the satellite in the wrong orbit.
— S.P. Korolev RSC Energia and SPACE.com
Staff
Credit: S.P. Korolev
RSC Energia
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