Posted: Wed, Jul 16, 2008, 7:59 AM ET (1159 GMT)
A Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket successfully placed a new satellite into orbit late Tuesday for a satellite TV broadcaster. The Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off from the Odyssey Launch Platform on the Equator in the Pacific Ocean at 1:21 am EDT (0521 GMT) Wednesday—late Tuesday evening at the launch site—and placed the EchoStar 11 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit one hour later. The satellite, a 1300-series spacecraft by Space Systems/Loral, will be located at 110 degrees west in GEO and be used by DISH Network for direct-to-home TV broadcasts for the US. The launch is the fourth this year for Sea Launch, with two more missions scheduled before the end of the year.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  NASA SpaceFlight.com article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  AP article
•  Sea Launch press release