Land Launch places first satellite into orbit
Posted: Mon, Apr 28, 2008, 1:08 PM ET (1708 GMT)
The first mission for the Land Launch commercial venture successfully placed an Israeli communications satellite into orbit early Monday. The Zenit-3SLB lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1 am EDT (0500 GMT) and placed the Amos-3 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch had been previously planned for Thursday but was postponed at the last minute because of a problem with ground equipment. The satellite, built by Israel Aerospace Industries, weighs 1,270 kg at launch and carries a set of Ku- and Ka-band transponders. The satellite, owned by Israeli satellite operator Spacecom, will be located at 4 degrees west in GEO to serve customers in Europe, the Middle East, and the eastern US. The launch was the first for Land Launch, a joint venture between Sea Launch Company and Russian firm Space International Services. Land Launch used a modified version of Sea Launch's Zenit-3SL launched from Baikonur and is designed to serve the market for smaller GEO satellites.
The first mission for the Land Launch commercial venture successfully placed an Israeli communications satellite into orbit early Monday. The Zenit-3SLB lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1 am EDT (0500 GMT) and placed the Amos-3 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch had been previously planned for Thursday but was postponed at the last minute because of a problem with ground equipment. The satellite, built by Israel Aerospace Industries, weighs 1,270 kg at launch and carries a set of Ku- and Ka-band transponders. The satellite, owned by Israeli satellite operator Spacecom, will be located at 4 degrees west in GEO to serve customers in Europe, the Middle East, and the eastern US. The launch was the first for Land Launch, a joint venture between Sea Launch Company and Russian firm Space International Services. Land Launch used a modified version of Sea Launch's Zenit-3SL launched from Baikonur and is designed to serve the market for smaller GEO satellites.
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