Sea Launch Prepares For Launch Of SICRAL 1B
Long Beach CA (SPX) Nov 17, 2008 Sea Launch took delivery of the SICRAL 1B communications satellite this week at the Payload Processing Facility at Sea Launch Home Port in the Port of Long Beach. With additional arrivals this month of associated hardware and personnel, preparations for launch operations are now underway in support of this mission in January 2009. Sea Launch will be inserting the SICRAL 1B communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit for Telespazio, a Thales/Finmeccanica company, based in Rome. A contract signed with Telespazio in 2007 provides for the launch of SICRAL 1B to orbit on a Zenit-3SL vehicle. Built in Torino by Thales Alenia Space Italia, a Thales/Finmeccanica company, the dual-use Italsat 3000 bus spacecraft was integrated and tested in Cannes, France. SICRAL 1B will provide strategic and tactical communications services for the Italian armed forces, in Italy and abroad, as well as ensuring mobile communications with land, naval and air platforms. It will also provide NATO forces with UHF and SHF SATCOM capabilities. The launch of the SICRAL 1B satellite will follow the successful deployment and operation of SICRAL 1A, part of Italy's first military communications satellite system dedicated to national security. SICRAL 1B has an expected operating life of 13 years and is designed to extend the potential of the system within NATO programs until 2019. As an investor in the SICRAL 1B program, Telespazio will have access of some of the satellite's transmission capacity from its final orbital position at 11.8 degrees East Longitude. Related Links Sea Launch Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com
Sea Launch Countdown Underway For The Galaxy 19 Mission Long Beach CA (SPX) Sep 24, 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. |
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