spacetoday.net: Zenit launches XM satellite

Posted: Tue, Mar 1, 2005, 8:42 AM ET (1342 GMT)
Zenit 3SL launch of Estrela do Sul (Boeing)

A Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket successfully launched a replacement radio broadcasting satellite late Monday after nearly two weeks of delays. the Zenit 3SL lifted off from the floating Odyssey launch platform on the Equator in the Pacific Ocean at 10:51 pm EST Monday (0351 GMT Tuesday). Its payload, the XM-3 satellite, separated from the booster's upper stage an hour later after entering a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch had been scheduled for the middle of the month but was delayed first by poor weather and sea conditions at the launch site; a launch attempt last week was aborted in the final minutes of the countdown because of an unspecified technical issue. XM-3, a Boeing 702, will be placed in GEO at 85 degrees west. It will serve as a partial replacement for XM Satellite Radio's two existing satellites, XM-1 and -2; these Boeing 702 satellites were launched in 2001 but are losing power because of a solar power system flaw.