Posted: Sat, Apr 12, 2003, 12:42 AM ET (0442 GMT)
An Atlas 3B booster successfully launched an Asian communications satellite Friday night. The Atlas 3B lifted off from pad 36B at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:47 pm EDT (0047 GMT) and released its payload, the AsiaSat 4 communications satellite, into geostationary transfer orbit 31 minutes later. The launch, already pushed back one day because of poor weather, was delayed by nearly 40 minutes because of a combination of technical problems and strong upper-level winds. The AsiaSat 4 satellite, a Boeing 601HP, will provide television and other communications services for Asia, Australia, and the Middle East from 122 degrees east longitude. The launch is the third in four days, after Tuesday's Titan 4B and Wednesday's Ariane 5G launches. The flight is also the second for the Atlas 3B and third overall for the Atlas 3 family. The mission is the third commercial launch of 2003, after the Ariane 5G launch this week and the last Ariane 4 launch in February.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  AP article
•  Spaceflight Now launch status center
•  ILS press release
•  Boeing press release