The seagoing launch platform that will send the JCSAT-9 communications satellite into space next month was under way Friday.
The launch is scheduled for April 11 and will place a high-power satellite in geosynchronous orbit at 132 degrees East.
Sea Launch said Friday that the Zenit-3sL rocket would lift off from the floating pad in the open Pacific during a 34-minute window at around 23:30 GMT.
The JCSAT-9 is a high-power hybrid A21000AX spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin and equipped with C-band, S-band and Ku-band transponders with a minimum orbital life of 12 years.
It will be operated by JSAT Corp., a major communications satellite provider in the Asia-Pacific region.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
NASA to Attempt Historic Solar Sail Deployment
"Hold your hands out to the sun. What do you feel? Heat, of course. But there's pressure as well – though you've never noticed it, because it's so tiny. Over the area of your hands, it only comes to about a millionth of an ounce. But out in space, even a pressure as small as that can be important – for it's acting all the time, hour after hour, day after day. Unlike rocket fuel, it's free and unlimited. If we want to, we can use it; we can build sails to catch the radiation blowing from the sun."
World's first space telescope to discover near-Earth objects
Canada is building the world's first space telescope designed to detect and track asteroids as well as satellites. Called NEOSSat (Near Earth Object Surveillance Satellite), this spacecraft will provide a significant improvement in surveillance of asteroids that pose a collision hazard with Earth and innovative technologies for tracking satellites in orbit high above our planet.
Moon-Bound NASA Spacecraft Passes Major Preflight Tests
Engineering teams are conducting final checkouts of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, that will take a significant step forward in the search for water on the moon.
CU-Boulder returns $3M to NASA in satellite design, operation cost savings
The University of Colorado at Boulder took an unusual step today by returning nearly $3 million in cost savings to NASA for an award-winning satellite mission designed, built and controlled by the university to study how the sun's variation influences Earth's climate and atmosphere.
US group Boeing to bid for Galileo navigation contracts: report
US aerospace group Boeing plans to compete for contracts connected with the European satellite navigation system Galileo, the German newspaper Handelsblatt said on Monday, quoting a company spokeswoman.
Launch of satellite to track sea levels set for June 20
The launch of a US-French satellite that will track rising sea levels and ocean currents has been rescheduled for next Friday, US space agency NASA said.
Even the Antarctic winter cannot protect Wilkins Ice Shelf
Wilkins Ice Shelf has experienced further break-up with an area of about 160 km² breaking off from 30 May to 31 May 2008. ESA's Envisat satellite captured the event – the first ever-documented episode to occur in winter.
Milky Way Mapping Project Finds Surprisingly Slow Stars
On Earth, making a map is as easy as taking aerial photographs or surveying a patch of land on foot. In contrast, mapping the Milky Way galaxy is a tremendous challenge. The distances are too large to travel, making bird's-eye views or direct surveys impossible.