The Land Launch team today successfully completed the launch of the Intelsat 15 communications satellite for Intelsat, Ltd., the worlds leading provider of fixed satellite services. All systems performed as planned. A Zenit-3SLB vehicle lifted off the from the Land Launch pad at the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan, at 1:00 pm PST (21:00 GMT), carrying the 2,484 kg (5,477 lbs) Intelsat 15 satellite. About six-and-a-half hours later, the satellite separated from the Block DM-3SLB upper stage, inserting the Intelsat 15 communications satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. A ground station acquired the first signals from orbit shortly before separation.
Intelsat, Ltd., the worlds leading provider of fixed satellite services, announced today that a Zenit-3SLB vehicle successfully launched the Intelsat 15 satellite (IS-15) from the Land Launch facilities at the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan. Liftoff occurred at 4:00 p.m. ET, followed by signal acquisition and spacecraft separation about six and a half hours later at 10:28 p.m. ET.
Live streaming video coverage of "Zenit-3SLB" Mission. Cosmodrome Baikonur.
Start: 22:00 November 29, 2009 (Moscow time, MSK). End: 01:00 November 30, 2009 (Moscow time, MSK). Launch time: 24:00 November 29, 2009 (Moscow time, MSK).
Preparations are moving forward at the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan for the fourth Land Launch mission, the first of a satellite for Intelsat, Ltd., the world's leading provider of fixed satellite services. Liftoff on November 29 is planned at 1:00 pm PT (21:00 GMT), for the Intelsat 15 satellite, at the start of a one-hour launch window. From the Land Launch pad at Area 45, a Zenit-3SLB vehicle will lift the Intelsat 15 spacecraft to geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position of 85 degrees East Longitude, replacing the Intelsat 709 spacecraft. Orbital Sciences built the Intelsat 15 spacecraft to provide video and data services for Intelsat's customers operating in the Middle East and Indian Ocean regions as well as in Russia.