Sea Launch Co. delivered the second satellite designed to provide the service, Inmarsat-4 F2, to geosynchronous transfer orbit Nov. 8. The Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off from the platform at Sea Launch’s equatorial launch site Nov. 8 at 9:07 a.m. EST. A ground station at Lake Cowichan, British Columbia, acquired the first signal from the satellite less than 25 minutes after the spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle.

The EADS Astrium-built Inmarsat-4 F2 carries a single global beam that covers up to a third of the Earth’s surface, 19 wide spot beams and 228 narrow spot beams. Inmarsat’s BGAN constellation will consist of three satellites. Inmarsat-4 F1 was launched in March.