Sea Launch rocket lifts off

Transferring the Ukranian Zenit-3SL onto the sea launch platform

July 28, 2000
Web posted at: 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 GMT)

From staff reports

(CNN) -- A Ukrainian rocket with a U.S. communications satellite lifted off Friday from a floating platform near the equator. It's the first launch for the Sea Launch company since a failure four months ago sent a rocket to the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Sea Launch had two successful launches before March when a Zenit rocket crashed into the ocean after failing to reach orbit.

The cause of the failure was a software glitch that opened a valve on the second stage of the rocket.

Sea Launch, an international consortium of aerospace giants, offered a live webcast of Friday's event.

If all goes as planned, a Ukrainian Zenit rocket will deploy its 2,389-kilogram (5,268-pound) payload in stationary orbit above the Earth. The satellite, which belongs to PanAmSat, will provide service for the Americas, the Caribbean and western Europe.

With 21 spacecraft in orbit today, PanAmSat has the world's largest commercial geostationary satellite network. The company plans to expand its global fleet to 24 spacecraft by mid-2001.

Launches at the equator allow a rocket to carry more weight into space than they can from other latitudes. Because the platform is surrounded by the ocean, there is little chance of the rocket's stages falling on populated areas.

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PanAmSat Corporation
Hughes Space and Communications
Sea Launch

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