California News
Satellite Launches from Equator, Will Provide More Broadband Service
Posted: 5:55 PM Aug 19, 2012
Reporter: AP & Staff
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - A rocket carrying an Intelsat satellite successfully lifted off from the oceangoing Sea Launch platform at the equator. It will provide broadband service to North America, and direct-to-home media service to South America in addition to other duties.
A Sunday statement from Sea Launch AG said the rocket took off from the Pacific Ocean platform Odyssey at 11:55 p.m. PDT Saturday.
Thirty minutes after the launch, the 13,188-pound satellite - named Intelsat 21 - was in geosynchronous orbit. The satellite was built by Boeing Satellite Systems Inc..
The Odyssey platform and the control ship sail from their home port in Long Beach, California, to take advantage of physics that allow a rocket to more easily carry a payload to orbit from the equator.
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