Update to storyposted at 1:21 a.m. EDT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Tenmillion people around the United States soon will be receiving their favoritelocal and network TV programs directly broadcast from a satellite thatwas launched at CapeCanaveral Air Force Station early Friday morning.

Atlas2AS Lift Off

A Lockheed Martin Atlas 2-ASrocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on July 14, 2000carrying the Echostar 6 direct broadcast televsion satellite into Earthorbit. SPACE.com image from ILS TV.

The millions of viewers willbe customers living in homes equipped with a DISHNetwork receiving system, said Charlie Ergen, president and founderof Echostar Communications Corp., the company that operates the DISH Network.

More than 600 channels ofprogramming are offered using the five Echostarsatellites already in orbit. This sixth satellite, which is expected togo into service this fall, will share the load and improve the network'sreach into Alaska and Hawaii, Ergen said.

"We have a lot of work todo now that we have a new satellite up there. We look forward to puttinga few more hundred channels in service and taking care of all of our customersand giving them a lot better deal," Ergen said after the launch.

Atlas amazes

The new satellite, Echostar6, was launched into orbit flying atop a LockheedMartin Atlas 2-AS rocket on a mission officials valued at some $250million.

Liftoff from Cape Canaveral'spad 36-B came at 1:21 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (05:21 GMT) Friday.

"You'llnever be in a situation again... where you actually have 500 channels andthere's nothing to watch." Charlie Ergen,President and CEO of Echostar CommunicationsCorp.

Precisely 28 minutes and55 seconds later, the Space Systems/Loral-built satellite separated fromthe Atlas rocket's Centaur upper stage, just west of the African coastline,as the hardware continued to climb into orbit.

"We're delighted to havehad a very successful launch of Echostar 6," said Mark Albrecht, presidentof International Launch Services (ILS), the commercial firm that marketsLockheed Martin's Atlas family and Krunichev's Proton family of boosters."We're thrilled to have been able to provide such an excellent orbit insertion."

Designed to last 12 yearsin orbit, Echostar 6 may last as long as 13 years thanks to the preciseplacement in orbit provided by the Atlas 2-AS, Albrecht said.

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The apparently flawless missioncontinued the unblemished, 100-percent success rate of the Atlas 2-AS rocket,Lockheed Martin's most powerful version of the Atlas 2 family of boosters.The company has now launched 20 of the 2-AS models without failure.

The Atlas 2-AS features astandard Atlas-Centaur combination as the core vehicle and includes theaddition of four Castor 4-A strap-on solid-fuel rocket motors, two of whichare ignited at launch and burn for about one minute before the remainingtwo are lit.

Wireless world

Friday's mission also markedthe fourth time an Echostar satellite has ridden into space on a rocketsold by ILS.

LaunchVIP's

Many of the 800 guests invitedfor the Atlas 2-AS launch of Echostar 6 gather for a last-minute picturein front of the rocket before pad 36-B is closed to begin fueling the booster.SPACE.com image from ILS TV.

Two more Echostar satellitesare being made by Loral and are scheduled for launch in 2001 and 2002,although the launch services provider has not been selected yet.

Growing DISH Network's satelliteconstellation will help the company fulfill its vision of creating a totallywired world without the use of wires.

"There's not really a needfor a cable anymore. Other than your electricity, we don't think you needa wire or a cable for anything," Ergen said. "While much of the world isputting coax cable in, we're going to do it through microwave."

Ergen said his company istesting the use of satellites to offer broadband internet services usinga computer the user would buy with the satellite dish and receiving system.

Another add-on in work forthe DISH Network is the ability to more easily record TV programs withoutthe use of videotape, so the user can watch what they want to watch wheneverthey want to watch it, Enger said.