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Sea Launch Soars Again Carrying Thuraya-2 to Orbit
By Jim Banke
Senior Producer
posted: 11:40 am ET
10 June 2003
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A new Arab communications satellite is circling the globe today and soon will be providing increased telephone network capacity for customers in the Middle East and portions of Europe, Africa and Asia. Known as Thuraya 2, the spacecraft built by Boeing Satellite Systems in El Segundo, Calif., was lofted into geosynchronous transfer orbit Tuesday by a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by Sea Launch of Long Beach, Calif. Liftoff of the three-stage booster was right on time at 9:56 a.m. EDT (1356 GMT). Having not launched in nearly a year while awaiting satellites to be readied, Sea Launch officials watched and waited anxiously for spacecraft separation, the point at which the launch phase of a mission is declared a success. One hour and 40 minutes after launch, officials confirmed the 11,413-pound (5,177-kilogram) satellite had detached from the Block DM-SL upper stage and was safely in orbit. Tuesday's nighttime blastoff was staged from the Odyssey Launch platform, an ocean-going vessel modified from an oil drilling platform to serve as a floating launch pad. Nearby was the command and control ship Sea Launch Commander. Both ships were located on the equator at 154 degrees West longitude, east of Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean.From that location a rocket can lift off into any orbital inclination and take maximum advantage of the speed of Earth's rotation to give it a little extra boost of energy. As a result, the spacecraft can carry more maneuvering fuel to extend its lifetime or a smaller spacecraft can be sent farther out into space. That's a major selling point that Sea Launch has used to set itself apart from other commercial launch providers. Sea Launch is a joint venture of Boeing in the United States, RSC Energia of Russia, SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Ukraine and Kvaerner of Norway. Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company of United Arab Emirates is to operate Thuraya 2 and be joined in orbit by Thuraya 1, which was lofted by Sea Launch in October 2000.
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