Sea Launch Company to launch 1st commsat in 2014 from Odysseus floating platform
The satellite will make it possible to diversify services being rendered to internet providers, government agencies and transmitting stations.
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| Odysseus Sea Launch platform (archive) |
Overnight to May 27, the Sea Launch Company will loft into space a Zenit-3SL space rocket from the floating platform Odysseus in the Pacific to deploy Eutelsat 3B communications satellite.
Initially, the launch was planned for April 16. However, due to technical reasons the launch had to be postponed.
During a "dry" conveyance to the launch position, technical notes concerning the erection of the rocket were recorded.The Zenit-3SL rocket consists of the Zenit-2S booster stages made by the Ukraine-based design bureau Yuzhmash (Dnipropetrovsk), and the DM-SL booster made by Russia's space rocket corporation Energia.
The Eutelsat spacecraft is based on the Eurostar E3000 platform. It is made by the Airbus Defense and Space Company and is designed for operation in the commercial C, Ku, and Ka ranges. The satellite will make it possible to diversify services being rendered to internet providers, government agencies, and transmitting stations which operate in Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The designed life of the Eutelsat-3B is more than 15 years.
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