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Sea Launch successfully orbits U.S. communication satellite

11:32 20/03/2008

WASHINGTON, March 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Sea Launch consortium has successfully launched the U.S. satellite DirecTV 11 from the Odyssey platform in the Pacific Ocean, the company said on Thursday.

A Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off at 22:48 GMT on Wednesday after a two-day delay caused by minor technical problems, the company said on its website. A Boeing tracking facility acquired a signal from the satellite at 05:44 GMT on Thursday.

The Boeing-made DirectTV 11 satellite, weighing around six metric tons, will broadcast high-definition TV to subscribers in the U.S.

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 as 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.

The launch is the consortium's fourth for DirecTV.

Sea Launch has performed a total of 26 commercial launches for a range of companies, including EchoStar, DirecTV, XM Satellite Radio, and PanAmSat.

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Sea Launch successfully orbits U.S. communication satellite

11:32 20/03/2008 The Sea Launch consortium has successfully launched the U.S. satellite DirecTV 11 from the Odyssey platform in the Pacific Ocean, the company said on Thursday.>>

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