BY JUSTIN RAY

Follow the countdown and flight of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket with the Intelsat Americas 8 communications spacecraft. Reload this page for the latest on the mission.

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2005

Floating on a launch platform in the equatorial Pacific Ocean far from anywhere, a 20-story rocket roared to life in the peaceful predawn darkness this morning to haul a telecommunications satellite into space to serve the Americas. Read our full story.

1453 GMT (10:53 a.m. EDT)

The early look at the orbit achieved is right on target, Sea Launch president Jim Maser reports.

This concludes our live launch updates. Check back later today for a full wrap-up of the launch.

1448 GMT (10:48 a.m. EDT)

Ground crews have detected the first signals from the free-flying Intelsat Americas 8 spacecraft, confirming the craft is operating following today's launch into orbit. Sea Launch says the ascent has been a success.

1432 GMT (10:32 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 29 minutes, 17 seconds. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION! The Intelsat Americas 8 communications spacecraft has been released from the Block DM-SL upper stage to complete this 17th Sea Launch flight.

While flying above the eastern coast of Brazil, explosive bolts holding the 12,125-pound satellite to the spent rocket motor were detonated, allowing small springs to release Intelsat Americas 8. By design, tip-off rates were imparted on the satellite to create a gentle tumble as it moved away at one-foot-per-second.

Controllers expect to acquire the first signals from the newly-launched Loral-made satellite in about 15 or 20 minutes via the Fucino ground tracking station in Italy.

1430 GMT (10:30 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 27 minutes, 15 seconds. Deployment of the spacecraft from the upper stage is about two minutes away. During this coast period between completion of the Block DM-SL stage's burn and spacecraft separation, the stage is providing the necessary control and orientation for payload release.

1427 GMT (10:27 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 24 minutes. The rocket is soaring high over equatorial South America now. The satellite will separate from the launch vehicle above the eastern shore of Brazil.

1422 GMT (10:22 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 19 minutes, 30 seconds. The Block DM-SL's main engine has shut down, completing the powered phase of this morning's launch. The stage will now coast for about 10 minutes before deploying the Intelsat Americas 8 satellite.

1421 GMT (10:21 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 18 minutes. About 90 seconds of propulsion are remaining from the Block DM-SL upper stage.

1415 GMT (10:15 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 12 minutes, 30 seconds. The upper stage has about seven minutes remaining in this burn to achieve the proper orbit.

1414 GMT (10:14 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 11 minutes, 45 seconds. Sea Launch says all of the ascent events have been occurring on time.

1413 GMT (10:13 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 10 minutes. The vehicle remains stable on the upper stage's thrust.

1411 GMT (10:11 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 8 minutes, 50 seconds. The Block DM-SL upper stage has ignited for this morning's single firing to accelerate the Intelsat Americas 8 spacecraft from the current suborbital trajectory to geosynchronous transfer orbit.

1411 GMT (10:11 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 8 minutes, 35 seconds. The second stage vernier engines have shut down and the spent stage has been jettisoned. It will impact the Pacific about 2,719 miles downrange from the launch platform.

1410 GMT (10:10 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 7 minutes, 30 seconds. The second stage RD-120 main engine has shut down. The vernier steering engines are still burning as designed.

1410 GMT (10:10 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 7 minutes, 10 seconds. The second stage is throttling down in preparation for engine cutoff.

1409 GMT (10:09 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 6 minutes. Second stage engine pressures are normal as the motor continues to fire. A good flight of the Zenit rocket is being reported by Sea Launch.

1407 GMT (10:07 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 4 minutes, 25 seconds. NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System has acquired the vehicle to receive telemetry for transmission to Sea Launch. The second stage is still firing.

1406 GMT (10:06 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 3 minutes, 40 seconds. The rocket's payload fairing, or nose cone, is being jettisoned. It protected the satellite cargo during atmospheric ascent. The nose cone will impact the Pacific about 629 miles downrange.

1405 GMT (10:05 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 2 minutes, 35 seconds. The second stage engine has been ignited for its firing.

1405 GMT (10:05 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 2 minutes, 30 seconds. The first stage RD-171 engine has shut down and the spent stage was jettisoned. It will impact the Pacific Ocean approximately 488 miles downrange from the Odyssey launch platform.

1404 GMT (10:04 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 1 minute, 30 seconds. The official liftoff time was 1402:59.149 GMT.

1404 GMT (10:04 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 1 minute, 10 seconds. The vehicle has passed through the region of maximum dynamic pressure.

1403 GMT (10:03 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 45 seconds. The 20-story Zenit 3SL rocket is riding the thrust of the first stage main engine. The Russian-made engine has four nozzles and powers the rocket for the first two-and-a-half minutes of flight.

1403 GMT (10:03 a.m. EDT)

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket carrying the Intelsat Americas 8 spacecraft!

1402 GMT (10:02 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 1 minute and counting. The launch team is giving final approval for this morning's liftoff. The rocket and spacecraft are ready for flight.

1358 GMT (9:58 a.m. EDT)

All systems appear "go" for the predawn liftoff from the Odyssey launch platform.

1348 GMT (9:48 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 15 minutes. The transporter/erector arm is starting to retract from the rocket. The arm was used to roll the rocket out of the environmentally-controlled hangar atop the Odyssey platform and lift the rocket upright. Once the arm is lowered to the platform deck, it will be returned to the hangar and the doors closed for launch.

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.

1341 GMT (9:41 a.m. EDT)

The Zenit rocket is fueled and the countdown is progressing for liftoff at 1403 GMT this morning from the equatorial Pacific. Weather conditions are acceptable for the launch.

"We had a slight delay early on just to take some time to verify that a ground support system was working properly. We did verify that. Everything is working fine and we are currently working no issues at all," Sea Launch chief Jim Maser says.

1200 GMT (8 a.m. EDT)

Today's launch has been delayed 65 minutes for undisclosed reasons. The liftoff is now targeted for 1403 GMT (10:03 a.m. EDT).

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2005

A communications satellite with a reach stretching from upper North America to lower South America goes into orbit today.

Liftoff of the Intelsat Americas 8 spacecraft atop the Zenit 3SL rocket is set for 1258 GMT (8:58 a.m. EDT) from the Odyssey launch platform, a converted Norwegian oil platform that serves as the starting point for all Sea Launch missions. The launch window extends for two hours.

The 12,125-pound satellite will be delivered directly into an egg-shaped geostationary transfer orbit about a half-hour after launch. It then will undergo a series of engine firings to circularize its orbit to an altitude of 22,300 miles.

Intelsat Americas 8 is a tri-band spacecraft built to provide voice, video and data broadcasting services via its C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band payloads. It will go into operation this August, beginning a 15-year mission to cover the Americas, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Alaska from its orbital slot of 89 degrees West Longitude.

Originally manufactured by Space Systems/Loral under the name Telstar 8 for operator Loral Skynet, the craft was part of Intelsat's acquisition of Telstar satellites.

Intelsat Americas 8 will be the 28th satellite in Intelsat's global fleet and fifth for North America.

The Odyssey launch platform with the Zenit 3SL booster aboard departed its California port earlier this month, followed a few days later by the Sea Launch Commander control ship. After a brief open-ocean chase, the command vessel and converted Norwegian oil platform joined up and made the rest of the journey to the equator in tandem formation.

Once the ships arrived at the launch site, Odyssey was ballasted to launch depth to ensure stability. The Sea Launch Commander also pulled alongside Odyssey to allow workers to easily transfer from one vessel to the other. A 72-hour countdown commenced Monday.

The Zenit 3SL rocket was rolled from its hangar and erected vertically into the launch position on Tuesday. Fueling of the rocket with its refined kerosene fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer will take place in the final hours before blastoff this morning.

After lifting off, the Ukrainian-built first stage's four-chamber RD-171 engine will fire for about two-and-a-half minutes before shutting down and separating. The second stage will then ignite and burn before jettisoning six minutes later. The protective payload fairing will also be let go during the second stage firing.

The Russian Block-DM upper stage will conduct a 10-minute, 40-second burn to inject the Intelsat Americas 8 satellite into orbit. Spacecraft separation is slated for 29 minutes into the flight.

Watch this page for updates during the launch.