Sea Launch Sails To Launch Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 Satellite

The Sea Launch launch platform and Commander vessel have embarked on their transit to the equator for the launch of the Boeing [NYSE: BA]-built Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 satellite for PanAmSat [Nasdaq: SPOT] and JSAT. Liftoff is scheduled for Sept. 30, in a 39-minute launch window that will open at 9:03 p.m. PDT (4:03:00 GMT, Oct. 1).

The Sea Launch vessels are sailing from Long Beach, Calif., to the launch site on the equator at 154 degrees West Longitude. When they arrive, the launch team will initiate a 72-hour countdown, ballasting the launch platform to launch depth and performing final tests on the rocket and spacecraft. The three-stage Zenit-3SL rocket will lift the 4090 kilogram (9,081 pound) Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit. This is the third mission Sea Launch is executing for PanAmSat–the others were the PAS-9 in July 2000 and the Galaxy IIIC in June 2002.