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A Zenit-3SL rocket lifts off from the Odyssey Launch Platform, taking
Galaxy 18 into orbit
Credit: Sea Launch |
Successful support for two satellite launches has put more feathers in the collective cap of staff members at the CSIR Satellite Applications Centre. The past weeks have seen these operators working around the clock to receive the signals of three satellites now in orbit.
The first of these was Galaxy 18, a communications satellite, which was delivered to orbit by Sea Launch Company from its ocean-based platform on the Equator on 21 May 2008. A Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off at 2:43 PDT (9:43 GMT) from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude, precisely on schedule. An hour later, the Block DM-SL upper stage inserted the 4,642 kg Galaxy 18 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position at 123 degrees West Longitude. (For an observer at a fixed location on earth, a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit returns to exactly the same place in the sky at exactly the same time each day.) Operators at the CSIR's Hartebeesthoek ground station, who were contracted by Intelsat, acquired the spacecraft's first signals from orbit shortly after spacecraft separation.
Galaxy 18 is the 42nd satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for Intelsat, the largest provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. It joins five other Galaxy spacecraft with key roles in the North American cable arc, which deliver some of the most popular programming to millions of American homes.
Speaking after the launch, Rob Peckham, president and general manager of Sea Launch, commended all involved in the mission: "Thanks to everyone involved in today's accomplishment, especially the people of Sea Launch and our partners, contractors and families around the world who support us."
On 12 May 2008, the CSIR supported the launch of an Ariane-5 rocket, which put a British military satellite and a Turkish telecommunications satellite into orbit. The rocket blasted off from Europe's space base in Kourou in French Guiana on the north-east coast of South America.
Twenty-seven minutes after the launch, the rocket released a Skynet 5C satellite for Britain's Defence Ministry. Built by EADS Astrium, the satellite manufacturing division of European aerospace, Skynet will provide high-bandwidth communications for British and 'friendly' forces across the world.
Five minutes later, the rocket released a Turksat 3A satellite designed to enable Turkish telecoms operator Turksat to deliver communications services to Europe, Turkey and Central Asia. Turksat was built by the Franco-Italian consortium Thales Alenia Space.
Enquiries: Tiaan Strydom or CSIR Communications
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