Posted: Thu, Oct 6, 2011, 7:40 AM ET (1140 GMT)
A land-based Zenit rocket launched a commercial communications satellite early Thursday. The Zenit-3SLB rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:00 pm EDT Wednesday (2100 GMT Wednesday, 3:00 am local time Thursday) and released its payload, Intelsat-18, into transfer orbit six and a half hours later. The satellite, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, weighed 3,200 kilograms at launch and carries a payload of C- and Ku-band transponders. Intelsat will operate the spacecraft from 180 degrees east in GEO, replacing the existing IS-701 satellite to provide communications services in the Pacific Ocean region. The Zenit-3SLB is a version of the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL that is designed to launch smaller payloads from land.

Related Links:

•  Itar-Tass article
•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  AFP article
•  Intelsat press release