The satellite, with mass of approximately 6 metric tons, is designed to deliver national high-definition (HD) programming and local HD channels to subscribers throughout the United States.
"The launch has been scheduled for 3:49 p.m. PDT (22:49 GMT)," Paula Korn said.
Lifting off from the Odyssey Launch Platform in the Pacific Ocean, the Zenit-3SL rocket will place the DirecTV 11 satellite, with a designed lifetime of 12 years, into geosynchronous transfer orbit, with the spacecraft separating from the upper stage at 2,130 km (1,323 miles) above the Indian Ocean.
The satellite will ultimately be positioned in geostationary orbit, 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above the Earth, the company said.
The Sea Launch consortium, established in 1995, is owned by Boeing, Norway's Kvaerner ASA, Ukraine's Yuzhnoye design bureau and the Yuzhmash production association, as well Russia's RSC-Energia, and is the only company which launches its vehicles from the equator, allowing rockets to carry heavier payloads than from other latitudes.
According to the company's website, this is the fourth mission Sea Launch will perform for DirecTV. Previous satellites include Spaceway 1 (April 26, 2005), DirecTV 7S (May 4, 2004) and DirecTV 1R (October 9, 1999).
