Thuraya-2, the second satellite built by Boeing
[NYSE:BA] for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company of Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates, is set to launch on Tuesday, June 10. The satellite
will be lifted into orbit by Sea Launch Company, LLC aboard a Zenit-3SL
rocket from the Odyssey Launch Platform positioned on the equator in the
Pacific Ocean. The 44-minute launch window opens at 6:56 a.m. PDT (13:56:00
GMT).
The Boeing GEO-Mobile model satellite was built by Boeing Satellite Systems
(BSS) in El Segundo, Calif. In addition to Thuraya’s first satellite, BSS
also designed and built the ground system and supplied user handsets for the
Thuraya network, which provides mobile voice and data communication services
to a region of more than 100 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North and
Central Africa, and Central and South Asia.
“From its orbital slot at 44 degrees East longitude, Thuraya-2 will support
the long-term growth and success of the Thuraya service,” said Dave Ryan,
president of Boeing Satellite Systems International. “The satellite’s
advanced technology includes a powerful digital signal processor capable of
trillions of operations per second, and a more than 40-foot-wide aperature
antenna that lets it handle nearly 14,000 mobile-to-mobile calls
simultaneously. I speak for everyone at BSS when I say how proud we are of
Thuraya-2 and the team that built it.”
Thuraya-2 will be the eighth Boeing satellite launched by Sea Launch, a
multinational partnership headquartered in Long Beach, Calif. Sea Launch
successfully orbited Thuraya-1 in October 2000.
The Boeing Company is the world’s leading aerospace company, with its
heritage mirroring the history of flight. It is the largest manufacturer of
satellites, commercial jetliners and military aircraft. The company is also
a global market leader in missile defense, human space flight and launch
services.
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Contacts:
Richard Esposito
Boeing Satellite Systems
310-335-6314
Madonna Walsh
Boeing IDS News Bureau
314-234-1362
Note to editors:
Live video of the launch will be carried on the AMC-3 satellite, transponder
#18, Ku-band (Audio: 6.2 subcarrier for English; 6.8 subcarrier for Arabic).
You are welcome to use the feed in your news broadcasts.
High-resolution photos to accompany this release and QuickTime video clips
of a spacecraft deployment animation and other construction milestones are
all available for download at:
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/hsc_pressreleases/photogallery/photogallery.html
A Thuraya-2 fact sheet can be accessed at
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/factsheets/geomobile/thuraya2_3/thuraya2_3.html
