BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Follow the countdown and flight of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket with the EchoStar 9/Telstar 13 communications satellite. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2003
0630 GMT (2:30 a.m. EDT)

Following tonight's mission, Jim Maser, president and general manager of Sea Launch, had this to say:

"I want to congratulate Space Systems/Loral, EchoStar Communications Corporation, Loral Skynet and the entire Sea Launch team for a great job! Once again, we achieved a very smooth operation. This is clearly a tribute to the skill, dedication and experience of everyone in the Sea Launch organization and I am very proud to be part of this talented group. We have just completed our second launch in less than two months and we expect to continue this tempo well through next year.

"This mission also marked our tenth launch and the first for SS/L," Maser continued. "We appreciate the confidence and trust they and their customers have demonstrated and we look forward to the many more SS/L launches on our manifest. We also welcome the opportunity to serve EchoStar and Loral Skynet in the future."

Sea Launch has a current backlog of 14 firm launch contracts.

0446 GMT (12:46 a.m. EDT)

Ground controllers have acquired signals from the EchoStar 9/Telstar 13 satellite via a tracking station in Western Australia, indicating the spacecraft is alive following deployment into orbit.

For Sea Launch, tonight's mission was the second of four planned missions this year. Overall, the international consortium has completed nine successful missions since March 1999.

Neither the date nor the payload for the next Sea Launch mission have been announced.

Sea Launch is the commercial offering from Boeing Launch Services to loft large satellites into space. The Delta 4 rocket family was recently pulled from the commercial market by Boeing. Delta 4 is now focused on performing government launches of military payloads, geostationary weather satellites and NASA spacecraft.

0436 GMT (12:36 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 65 minutes, 50 seconds. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION! A "combo" satellite built to provide direct-to-home entertainment programming across the U.S. for EchoStar and other telecommunications services for Loral Skynet been released from the Block DM-SL upper stage to complete this tenth flight for Sea Launch.

Built by Space Systems/Loral, EchoStar 9/Telstar 13 spacecraft will maneuver itself into geostationary orbit 36,000 km (22,300 miles) above the Equator where it can match Earth's rotation and appear parked above 121 degrees West longitude.

EchoStar will operate the satellite's Ku-band and Ka-band payloads. EchoStar will employ the transponders to serve its 8.5 million customers in the United States that subscribe to the DISH Network direct-to-home television system.

Loral Skynet will use the spacecraft's 24 C-band transponders under the name Telstar 13. Cable programming will be beamed to users in the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean islands.

Loral Skynet just last month reached an agreement to sell its share of the satellite to Intelsat, along with four others already in orbit and another to be launched early next year. The deal could be closed within several months.

0435 GMT (12:35 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 64 minutes. Coming up on deployment of the payload from the upper stage.

0426 GMT (12:26 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 55 minutes, 15 seconds. Shutdown of the Block DM-SL's 11D58M main engine has been confirmed. This completes the powered phase of today's launch. The stage will now coast for about 10 minutes before deploying the 4,737 kg (10,443 pound) EchoStar 9/Telstar 13 satellite at T+plus 65 minutes, 47 seconds.

0421 GMT (12:21 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 50 minutes. The upper stage is performing normally.

0420 GMT (12:20 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 49 minutes, 10 seconds. The Block DM-SL upper stage has been re-ignited for a six-minute burn to accelerate satellite cargo into the targeted geosynchronous transfer orbit.

0416 GMT (12:16 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 45 minutes. The coast phase for the upper stage is nearing an end. Officials say the Block DM-SL is in good shape with no problems. Engine ignition is about four minutes away.

0346 GMT (11:46 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 15 minutes. Sea Launch says the Block DM-SL upper stage and EchoStar 9/Telstar 13 combo satellite have achieved a low-altitude parking orbit. The next event in the flight will be reignition of the stage in about a half-hour.

So far, it appears the flight has gone very smoothly. No problems were reported during the ascent.

0344 GMT (11:44 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 13 minutes, 45 seconds. The first of two firings by the Block DM-SL upper stage has been completed.

The stage and attached will coast in a preliminary parking orbit around Earth for the next half-hour before the next firing to complete the powered phase of launch.

The stage restart is due to occur at T+plus 49 minutes, 3 seconds into flight. The burn will last until T+plus 55 minutes, 7 seconds.

Spacecraft deployment is scheduled for T+plus 65 minutes, 47 seconds after launch.

0343 GMT (11:43 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 12 minutes. About 90 seconds remain in this first burn of the Block DM-SL.

0341 GMT (11:41 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 10 minutes. The upper stage is firing as scheduled to achieve a low-altitude parking orbit around Earth.

0340 GMT (11:40 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 9 minutes. The second stage vernier engines have shut down and the spent stage has been jettisoned. The Block DM-SL upper stage is now firing for the first of two burns to deliver the satellite payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

0338 GMT (11:38 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 7 minutes, 45 seconds. The second stage RD-120 main engine has cut off. The vernier engines continue to fire.

0338 GMT (11:38 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 7 minutes, 15 seconds. The second stage is throttling down in preparation for engine cutoff.

0337 GMT (11:37 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 6 minutes. No problems have been reported in this flight of the Sea Launch rocket.

0335 GMT (11:35 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 4 minutes, 45 seconds. Propulsion system performance is reported normal.

0334 GMT (11:34 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 3 minutes, 30 seconds. The rocket's payload fairing, or nose cone, has been jettisoned. It shieled the satellite cargo during atmospheric ascent. The second stage continues to fire normally.

0333 GMT (11:33 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 2 minutes, 40 seconds. The first stage RD-171 engine has shut down and the spent stage was jettisoned. And the second stage engine has been ignited.

0332 GMT (11:32 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 1 minute. A nominal flight for the Zenit 3SL vehicle.

0331 GMT (11:31 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T+plus 30 seconds. First stage engine performance reported normal. The Zenit rocket is maneuvering to the proper heading.

0331 GMT (11:31 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the tenth Sea Launch mission and a shared communications satellite for EchoStar and Loral!

0330 GMT (11:30 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T-minus 30 seconds. Final readiness checks have been completed. The Zenits 3SL rocket is poised to fly on-time tonight.

0329 GMT (11:29 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T-minus 2 minutes and counting. The engine start preparations are beginning to ready the first stage RD-171 powerplant for ignition. The Russian-made engine has four nozzles and powers the rocket for the first two minutes, 29 seconds of flight.

Meanwhile, the launch area has been verified clear.

0327 GMT (11:27 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T-minus 4 minutes and counting. The spacecraft payload is running on internal power and ready for flight.

0325 GMT (11:25 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

T-minus 6 minutes and counting. Liftoff remains set for 0331 GMT. All systems are reported "go" for launch.

0318 GMT (11:18 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

The weather conditions at the launch site are reported to be acceptable for flight today.

0314 GMT (11:14 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

The countdown is reaching a major milestone as the transporter/erector arm is retracted from against the rocket. The arm was used earlier to roll the rocket out of the environmentally-controlled hangar atop the Odyssey platform and to lift the rocket upright. Once the arm is lowered to the platform deck, it will be rolled back into the hangar and the build doors closed for launch.

0311 GMT (11:11 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

The final minutes of the countdown are ticking away to tonight's liftoff of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket carrying the EchoStar 9/Telstar 13 spacecraft. The launch is scheduled to occur at 0331 GMT. No problems are being reported by officials.

Fueling operations have been completed aboard the Odyssey platform. Over the past couple of hours, the rocket was loaded with kerosene propellant and cryogenic liquid oxygen. The platform was cleared of all workers prior to this hazardous activity, with all personnel moved to the Sea Launch Commander ship safely positioned about three miles away.

0231 GMT (10:31 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

One hour remains before tonight's launch window opens. Liftoff of the Sea Launch Zenit rocket is scheduled for 0331 GMT (10:31 p.m. EDT) from the Odyssey platform along the Equator in the Pacific.

We will post periodic updates about the final countdown and launch on this page.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2003

Sea Launch vessels have returned to the central Pacific Ocean for the consortium's tenth mission -- the deployment of a "combo" communications satellite that will be shared by two different companies.

Liftoff of the Zenit 3SL launcher is set for 11:31 p.m. EDT Thursday (0331 GMT Friday) from the Odyssey launch platform, a converted Norwegian oil platform that is now the starting point for all Sea Launch missions. The launch window extends for two hours.

Odyssey and its crew departed the Sea Launch home port in Long Beach, California, July 24, followed three days later by the departure of the Sea Launch Commander control ship. Both vessels steamed for a point along the Equator at 154 degrees West longitude.

The ships arrived on station Sunday and the launch countdown began at the 72-hour point Monday evening.

The Ukrainian Zenit 3SL is topped off by the Russian Block-DM upper stage and the EchoStar 9/Telstar 13 spacecraft destined to operate for direct-to-home television provider EchoStar Communications and telecommunications giant Loral Skynet.

Loral Skynet just last month reached an agreement to sell its share of the satellite to Intelsat, along with four others already in orbit and another to be launched early next year. The deal could be closed within several months.

Once deployed in its operational geostationary orbit, the 4,737 kg (10,443-pound) satellite will be positioned above the Equator at 121 degrees West longitude, where it will reach users throughout North America. The craft was built by Space Systems/Loral.

The EchoStar Communications portion of the spacecraft payload covers the Ku-band and Ka-band capabilities of the satellite. EchoStar will employ the transponders to serve its millions of customers in the United States that use the DISH Network direct-to-home television system.

On the other side, Loral Skynet -- and soon Intelsat -- will operate the craft's 24 C-band transponders under the name Telstar 13. Cable programming will be beamed to users in the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean islands.

The international launch team consisting of Russian, Ukrainian, Norwegian, and American hardware and crew is fresh off the successful launch of the Thuraya 2 communications satellite on June 10. Overall, this is scheduled to be the 10th flight of the rocket from its ocean-going launch pad dating back to 1999. All but one of the previous launches were successful.

Rollout of the 200-foot rocket from its protective hangar on the launch platform is expected late Wednesday. It will then be erected vertically on the launch pad.

Loading of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellant into all three stages should begin about two-and-a-half hours before launch. The erector arm should begin retracting away from the vehicle about 17 minutes before liftoff.

Looking ahead to Thursday night's ascent to orbit, after liftoff the Zenit's first stage and its RD-171 first stage engine will fire for about two-and-a-half minutes before shutting down and separating at an altitude of 78 kilometers.

The payload fairing protecting the payload will be jettisoned three minutes, 12 seconds into flight at an altitude of 116 kilometers as the rocket climbs far above the thick regions of the atmosphere.

The second stage will burn out and separate almost 9 minutes after liftoff, followed immediately by ignition of the Block-DM upper stage for its first burn lasting over four-and-a-half minutes to inject the stage and the satellite into a low-altitude parking orbit stretching from 180 km to 913 km at zero degrees of inclination.

A six-minute second burn starting 49 minutes into the launch will finish the job of placing the spacecraft into its targeted geostationary transfer orbit with a perigee of 756 km, apogee of 35,929 km and inclination of zero degrees.

Spacecraft separation is expected almost 66 minutes after liftoff.