Another scheduled launch of Zenit-3SL launch vehicle has
been made at 08:03:00 Moscow Daylight Saving Time (04:03:00
GMT) from the sea-going launch platform Odyssey of the Sea
Launch space launcher system currently located in the equatorial
region of the Pacific Ocean at 154 degrees West near Christmas
island.

The objective of the launch was to deliver a 4.09 ton spacecraft
Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 to the target geotransfer orbit with
the altitude of 2380 km at perigee and 35786 km at apogee
and inclination of 0 degrees.

The SC insertion into that orbit from an intermediate orbit
established by the two-stage launch vehicle Zenit-2S was
performed by the upper stage Block DM-SL using a flight
profile with two burns of the main engine. The first burn,
fired about 10 seconds after the orbital module consisting
of the upper stage and SC separated from the LV, boosted
the orbital module into a reference near-circular Earth
orbit with the following targeted parameters: perigee altitude
of 180 km, apogee altitude of 8353 km, inclination 0 degrees.
The second burn, fired 30 minutes after the completion of
the first one, assured the delivery of the SC to the target
geotransfer orbit.

The flight time of the upper stage Block DM-SL and SC from
the lift-off till their separation was about 1 hour.

The SC transfer from the target orbit to its GEO slot at
127 deg.W is performed autonomously.

The SC is owned by PanAmSat Corporation and JSAT Corporation.
It is intended for providing digital data transmission services,
including video and Internet for North and Central America,
Alaska and Hawaii. This is the third satellite owned by
PanAmSat Corporation launched by the sea-going space launcher.
The first satellite (PAS-9) was put into orbit in June,
2000, the second (Galaxy IIIC) was put n orbit in June,
2002.

Spacecraft launches from the sea-going space launching facility
are carried out by an international stock company, the stock
in which is held by Boeing of US, S.P.Korolev RSC Energia
of Russia, Kvaerner Invest Norge AS of Norway and aerospace
companies from Ukraine – Yuzhmashzavod Production Association
and M.K.Yangel State Design Bureau Yuzhnoye.

S.P.Korolev RSC Energia participates in the project as the
prime contractor for the rocket segment as a whole. The
Corporation is responsible for outfitting and integrating
the segment into the Sea Launch system, providing, together
with its subcontractors, which include more than 30 Russian
companies and companies of Ukraine, development, manufacturing,
and operation of the upper stage Block DM-SL as the third
stage of the Zenit-3SL ILV, as well as a suite of automated
systems for controlling pre-launch processing and launch,
systems for the upper stage flight control, the measuring
system, systems for loading high-boiling propellant components
and gases, the upper stage test and handling equipment.

Pre-launch preparations and launch were controlled from
the control center on-board the assembly and command ship
Sea Launch Commander. Automatic pre-launch sequence started
5 hours before the lift-off. The last team of specialists
supporting the launch and the crew of the launch platform
were evacuated by a helicopter to the assembly and command
ship 3 hours before the launch.

Operations to prepare ILV for launch and launching it from
the Odyssey launch platform at the launch site were conducted
under direction of the Sea Launch company’s Mission Director
D.Dubs and the Rocket Segment Operations Manager, RSC Energia
Deputy Designer General V.G.Aliev.

Analysis of the flight of the upper stage with SC is done
by RSC Energia specialists working in the framework of a
specially established Lead Operations Control Team posted
at the Mission Control Center (MCC-M), Korolev, Moscow region.
the Flight Director is cosmonaut-pilot V.A.Soloviev.

Present in the MCC-M mission control room during preparations
for launch and launch were the President of the S.P.Korolev
RSC Energia, Designer General, member of the Russian Academy
of Sciences Yu.P.Semenov, managers and specialists from
the Corporation and Russian subcontractors.

That was the eleventh launch under the Sea Launch program.
The first launch took place on March 27, 1999. The next
launch is scheduled for end of November, 2003.