CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Driving to work next year will become a more pleasurable experience thanks to a satellite launched from Central Asia on Thursday.
An ILS Proton rocket carries the third Sirius Satellite Radio spacecraft into Earth orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
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The spacecraft sent into orbit by a Russian rocket was the third of three needed by Sirius Satellite Radio of New York City in order for the company to begin offering commercial-free, CD-quality radio programming to commuters and drivers across the United States next year.
The first and second Sirius radio satellites were launched on Protons earlier this year and together the constellation makes it possible for a radio unit in a car or truck to receive the digital programming, no matter where you're driving in the continental U.S.
When the service is declared operational, a long-haul truck driver can tune in one of 50 channels of commercial-free music -- or one of 50 channels of traditional news and entertainment programming -- and not have to touch the dial during a journey from Boston to San Diego or Minneapolis to Orlando.Rollout of the service will be gradual so that Sirius engineers can test quality and performance at every step as more and more receivers are used throughout the nation, company spokeswoman Mindy Kramer told SPACE.com on Thursday.
"We're not going to make radios widely available until we can assure high quality service," Kramer said.
The company will not release any numbers on projected sales but Kramer did say they expect the greatest volume to come later in 2001 as consumers shop during next year's holiday season.
Sirius already has established alliances to install three-band radios in new Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Mercedes, Mazda, Jaguar and Volvo vehicles, as well as Freightliner and Sterling heavy trucks. That means that in addition to receiving satellite programs, you'll be able to hear local AM and FM stations as well.
The company also is setting up deals with electronics retailers so that consumers can purchase and install receivers and adapters in their current vehicles.
An example of what a Sirius Satellite Radio receiver will look like on the dashboard of your car. Image used with permission.
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Initial price for the satellite signal receiving hardware is expected to be between $300 and $400, but the price is expected to drop following a more-or-less normal consumer electronics pattern, officials said.
Subscription charges for the service is expected to be $9.95 per month.
Although you can't sign up for the service yet, Sirius is compiling an e-mail list at its corporate Web site so it can inform customers who are interested in becoming charter members at the proper time.
Thursday's launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome took place at 2:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (19:59 GMT) when a workhorse, four-stage Proton rocket lit up the cold desert, hauling its payload toward space on a brilliant plume of fire and smoke.
The mission -- marketed and managed by International Launch Services -- officially ended some two-and-a-half hours after liftoff when the Space Systems Loral-built satellite separated from the Block DM upper stage.
All three Sirius satellites were flown on ILS Proton boosters in only five months.
A fourth satellite, built as a ground spare, is to be delivered by Space Systems Loral to Sirius for storage in August 2001. The satellite was damaged during its manufacture, delaying its delivery and briefly sparking concerns among investors in Sirius.
Although not recovered from its 52-week high of $69 and seven-sixteenths, shares of Sirius stock closed Thursday at $32 and one-eighth -- up $2 or 6.64 percent from Wednesday -- with 1.2 million shares traded during the day.
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