SEA LAUNCH SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES SATELLITE
LONG BEACH - Sea Launch recently accomplished its eighth successful operation with the launch of the Zenit-3SL rocket and the on-target delivery of the Thuraya-2 satellite to orbit.
The mission also marked the first flight of the Zenit-3SL launch vehicle. The Thuraya-2 is the second satellite built by El Segundo-based Boeing Satellite Systems for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The satellite will support Thuraya's regional mobile communications services, including voice, fax and data in more than 100 countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North and Central Africa, and Central and Southern Asia.
The rocket lifted off from the Odyssey Launch Platform positioned on the Equator precisely on schedule with the spacecraft separating from the Block DM upper stage shortly afterward. The satellite was acquired about 40 minutes after launch by Boeing Satellite's ground station in Uralla, Western Australia.
All systems performed nominally throughout the flight. Thuraya-2 is designed to operate for 12 years at the 44 degrees East longitude orbital slot.
The satellite will add capacity to the Thuraya network, which provides mobile voice and data communication services to a region of more than 100 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North and Central Africa, and Central and South Asia.
Established in 1995, Sea Launch has a current backlog of 15 launch contracts. The company is the world's only services provider launching from the Equator and is a joint venture of US-based Boeing, RSC Energia of Russia, SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash, headquartered in Ukraine, and Norway's Kvaerner Group.
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