LONG BEACH, CA - Early this morning, the Sea Launch Company successfully launched Telespazio’s SICRAL 1B communications satellite from its equatorial launch site. This event marks Sea Launch’s 30th mission from sea, since operations began in March 1999. On today’s mission, a Zenit-3SL vehicle lifted off at 1:16 am PDT (08:16 GMT) from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude.
VIDEO: SEALAUNCH ZENIT-3SL LIFTS OFF WITH SICRAL 1B VIDEO: WATCH A REPLAY OF THE LAUNCH WEBCAST Less than two hours later, the Block DM-SL upper stage inserted the 3,038 kg (6,697 lb) SICRAL 1B satellite into a high perigee geosynchronous transfer orbit. Telespazio’s operators at the Fucino Space Center in Italy acquired the spacecraft’s first signals from orbit during flight operations and confirmed the health of the spacecraft shortly after its separation from the Block DM upper stage. Based on preliminary data, all Sea Launch system flight parameters were nominal and injection accuracy was excellent. "We are very excited about today’s launch results," said Kjell Karlsen, president and general manager of Sea Launch. "Congratulations to Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space and to Italy’s Ministry of Defense, which will be using some of the spacecraft’s capacity to support NATO’s European activities. We are proud to be part of Italy’s growing satellite program and we look forward to future opportunities to support its continued success. "This is our 30th mission from sea - a milestone that reflects the sustained efforts of the world's most internationally integrated launch team and demonstrates the tremendous feats that can be accomplished through global cooperation, while serving a global market. Congratulations to the Sea Launch partners, contractors and the entire team on this significant milestone and for another launch flawlessly executed." Built by Thales Alenia Space, this dual-use Italsat 3000 spacecraft is designed to provide communications services for the Italian Ministry of Defense, NATO and allied nations. The SICRAL 1B payload includes one EHF/Ka band, three UHF-band transponders and five active SHF-band transponders. Designed for a 13-year lifespan as part of a new communications satellite system dedicated to national security, SICRAL IB will be positioned in its final orbital location at 11.8 degrees East Longitude. The construction of the dual-use Italsat 3000 SICRAL 1B spacecraft involved Thales Alenia Space's Italian and French entities, with the spacecraft being built and tested in Cannes, France, and integrated in Turin, Italy. The Satellite Integration Center in Rome produced the payload, which includes one EHF/Ka band, three UHF-band and five active SHF-band transponders. 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 support NATO forces with its UHF and SHF SATCOM capabilities. SICRAL 1B is designed to meet the evolving requirements of the Italian defense ministry and NATO, and will work in tandem with the first SICRAL satellite, SICRAL 1A, launched in 2001 as part of a new communications satellite system dedicated to national security. SICRAL 1B's design life extends from 2009 to 2021, and is expected to be joined by SICRAL 2 in 2012. Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, a joint venture between Finmeccanica (67%) and Thales (33%), is a world leader in satellite services, from the management of satellites to Earth observation services, and from satellite navigation to broadband multimedia telecommunications. Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, has invested directly in the SICRAL 1B program, enabling it to use some of the satellite's transmission capacity and to offer communications services to NATO and the European defense market. The Rome-based company operates a network of four space centers and 25 sites globally. The Fucino Space Centre has more than 90 operational antennas and is the largest satellite telecommunications center in the world for civil use. Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, also operates in France, through Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, France - managing and maintaining ground infrastructure and offering value-added services - and in Germany, through Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, Deutschland, which specializes in services for operators in the space sector. In addition, Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, plays a leading role in reference markets, harnessing accumulated technological experience through its participation in major European space programs. Thales Alenia Space was responsible for construction of the SICRAL 1B spacecraft as well as some of its ground-based segment. Thales Alenia Space, a Thales/Finmeccanica joint venture, is a European leader in satellite systems and a major player in orbital infrastructures, setting the global standard in solutions for space telecoms, radar and optical Earth observation, defense and security, and navigation and science. The company has design and manufacturing facilities in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
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