Sea Launch First Commercial Mission Scheduled For Oct. 10; Vessels

[Larry Klaes <lklaes@xxx.xxxx]

>X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (Win16; I)
>Approved-By:  "H. Alan Montgomery" <fhd@tNz5BB9vYa_IlxWoml2jpxVVENfRvRVTopmWotD4dgutLOEjXWIZ5dzTcDpd5EZtVUA.yahoo.invalid>
>Newsgroups:   sci.space.news
>Date:         Tue, 28 Sep 1999 17:27:21 -0700
>Reply-To: fhd@1E5gt8qK8KebVIzrHaifq-9VMC3ap2aSan-zC-109P32fAj5cw9BZt_6LKAM1O5_9g.yahoo.invalid
>Sender: News about Space from SEDS <SEDSNEWS@mSbUKNmYPRf_GczNAjFYdQcKA7yFOSrnzQokQek-lZduaRwv_ss5vVGpE_ihcspuWVJZYLSO1dMKVop04Ee8xA.yahoo.invalid>
>From: "H. Alan Montgomery" <fhd@1E5gt8qK8KebVIzrHaifq-9VMC3ap2aSan-zC-109P32fAj5cw9BZt_6LKAM1O5_9g.yahoo.invalid>
>Organization: Master CraftsMon
>Subject:      Sea Launch First Commercial Mission Scheduled For Oct. 10;
Vessels
>To: SEDSNEWS@mSbUKNmYPRf_GczNAjFYdQcKA7yFOSrnzQokQek-lZduaRwv_ss5vVGpE_ihcspuWVJZYLSO1dMKVop04Ee8xA.yahoo.invalid
>
>Subject: Sea Launch First Commercial Mission Scheduled For Oct. 10; Vessels
>Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 14:43:21 GMT
>From: Andrew Yee <ayee@P9yMbHdWjdM0G0pRvxUsYOt85codZke9fok-2ISfWwrfYWqtVQp8EF0TDXOqBHN8ZmnMOJQd8pVx1NNdX5QI0O5S2zJN.yahoo.invalid>
>Organization: UTCC Campus Access
>To: SEDSNEWS@mSbUKNmYPRf_GczNAjFYdQcKA7yFOSrnzQokQek-lZduaRwv_ss5vVGpE_ihcspuWVJZYLSO1dMKVop04Ee8xA.yahoo.invalid
>
>Boeing
>
>Sea Launch First Commercial Mission Scheduled For Oct. 10; Vessels Set to
>Depart for Ocean Launch Site
>
>LONG BEACH, Calif., Sept. 23, 1999 -- The launch of the first commercial
>satellite from a floating platform at sea will take place on Sunday, Oct.
>10, 1999, Sea Launch Company announced today.
>
>A 200-foot Sea Launch rocket will lift the 7,600 pound DIRECTV 1-R direct
>broadcast satellite, built by Hughes Space & Communications Company, into
>geostationary transfer orbit from an equatorial ocean site at 154 Degrees
>West, Zero Degree North. The launch window opens at 7:28 p.m. Pacific
>Daylight Time.
>
>"There's no question that this launch is significant for Sea Launch and
>for the entire launch services industry," said Sea Launch President Allen
>B. Ashby, who made the announcement at a press conference today.
>"Collectively, we shared in the tremendous success of our March 27
>demonstration launch, but this is what we've been working toward; being in
>a position to offer our customers a cost-effective and reliable ride to
>orbit, while beginning to show a return on investment for the Sea Launch
>partnership."
>
>Ashby also said that the departure of the program's assembly and command
>ship and launch platform from the Sea Launch Home Port is imminent. Set to
>depart Long Beach in the next several days is the Sea Launch Commander, a
>floating mission control center and rocket assembly factory, and the
>Odyssey, a self-propelled launch platform. Onboard the Odyssey, in an
>environmentally controlled hangar, is the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket that
>will deliver the DIRECTV 1-R satellite to space. Transit of both vessels,
>from the Long Beach Home Port to the equator, is expected to take
>approximately 10-11 days.
>
>Upon arrival at the launch site, the Odyssey will be partially submerged
>for additional stability. The Sea Launch rocket will then be withdrawn
>from its hangar, lifted into a vertical position, fueled with kerosene and
>liquid oxygen, and launched via remote control from the Sea Launch
>Commander. Prior to the start of the automated fueling process, the
>Odyssey crew will be transferred to the Sea Launch Commander and
>transported approximately three miles away. DIRECTV 1-R is a Hughes HS
>601HP satellite, a body-stabilized model and the 50th in the HS 601 family
>to be launched. It features more than 7.5 kilowatts of total power, to
>operate 16 high-power Ku-band transponders for service to all 50 states.
>Besides building the satellite, Hughes arranged for the launch services in
>order to deliver the spacecraft in orbit.
>
>"The launch of DIRECTV 1-R is a significant milestone for DIRECTV," said
>Eddy Hartenstein, president of DIRECTV. "Once it is operational at 101
>degrees West Longitude, our primary orbital slot, DIRECTV 1-R will play a
>key role in expanding our capacity and delivering local broadcast network
>channels to DIRECTV customers in major metropolitan markets across the
>country. DIRECTV 1-R will also strengthen our in-orbit redundancy."
>
>Prior to the departure from Long Beach, Sea Launch and Hughes personnel
>conducted an extensive series of satellite tests and launch-readiness
>activities, including encapsulation of the DIRECTV 1-R satellite within
>the fairing, and transfer of the encapsulated spacecraft from the payload
>processing facility to the Sea Launch Commander. Once onboard, the payload
>was successfully mated with the three-stage Sea Launch rocket and
>transferred to the Odyssey for transit to the launch site.
>
>"We've thoroughly tested all aspects of our launch support operations on
>both the marine and aerospace side," said Don Carter, Sea Launch vice
>president of operations. "Everything from the payload and rocket to our
>mission support operations and vessel systems looks good. Now we simply
>have to perform to our capabilities once we reach the launch site."
>
>Building on proven performance and flight-tested hardware, Sea Launch
>combines the world's premier aerospace and marine expertise to provide
>satellite and end-user customers with superior value, performance and
>fully integrated commercial launch service capabilities. The Sea Launch
>global partnership includes Boeing Commercial Space Company, Kent, Wash.,
>(provides spacecraft integration and the payload fairings); Kvaerner
>Maritime a.s., of Oslo, Norway (the vessel builder); RSC Energia of
>Moscow, Russia (provides the Block-DM upper stage and its integration with
>the launch vehicle); and KB Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Ukraine (provides the
>first two stages of the launch vehicle).
>
>Sea Launch currently has firm contracts for 19 launches including the
>DIRECTV 1-R launch.
>
>---
>Andrew Yee
>ayee@P9yMbHdWjdM0G0pRvxUsYOt85codZke9fok-2ISfWwrfYWqtVQp8EF0TDXOqBHN8ZmnMOJQd8pVx1NNdX5QI0O5S2zJN.yahoo.invalid
>