Preparing for its fifth mission of 2006, Sea Launch announced Oct. 16 that its Odyssey launch platform and the Sea Launch Commander have departed from the company’s home port in Long Beach, Calif.

A Zenit-3SL vehicle is scheduled to lift the XM-4 satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit Oct. 26.

Built by the Boeing Satellite Development Center, the Boeing 702 spacecraft carries a high-power S-band digital audio radio service payload built by Alcatel Alenia Space. XM-4 will be placed at 115 degrees West to provide service throughout the continental United States and parts of Canada.