Sea Launch Countdown Underway for the Galaxy 19 Mission
Long Beach, Calif., September 22, 2008 – The Sea Launch team has initiated a 72-hour countdown at the equatorial launch site, in preparation for the launch of Intelsat’s Galaxy 19 satellite on September 24. Liftoff is planned at 2:28am PDT (9:28 GMT), at the opening of a two-hour launch window.
The team arrived at the launch site, at 154 degrees West Longitude, on September 20 and began ballasting operations to bring the platform to launch depth. A final series of tests on the launch system and the spacecraft are now underway. Prior to fueling operations, the platform will be evacuated, with all personnel safely positioned on the ship, now in launch position about four miles from the platform. An hour after liftoff, the Zenit-3SL vehicle will insert the 4,690 kg (10,340 lb) Galaxy 19 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital location of 97 degrees West Longitude.
Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the 1300-series hybrid spacecraft carries a total of 52 physical transponders. The Galaxy 19 satellite will provide Intelsat customers valuable 50-state coverage, in addition to reaching the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico.
Sea Launch will provide live coverage of the Galaxy 19 mission via satellite and website, beginning at 2:15am PDT (9:15 GMT) Wednesday morning, September 24. Live streaming video will be posted at: www.sea-launch.com/current_index_webcast.html. Transponder coordinates for downlinking the satellite feed will be provided at: http://www.boeing.com/nosearch/sealaunch/broadcast.html.
