LONG BEACH, Calif.—Sea Launch Co. has launched a new satellite for Dish Network Corp.
A rocket carrying the EchoStar 11 satellite lifted off at 10:21 p.m. PDT Tuesday from Long Beach, Calif.-based Sea Launch Co.’s rocket platform positioned on the equator in the Pacific Ocean.
Sea Launch spokeswoman Paula Korn says in a company Webcast that the spacecraft separated from the booster rocket and a ground station outside of Perth, Australia, acquired its first signal 70 minutes later.
“That signals mission success for EchoStar 11,” Korn said.
The satellite was built by Space Systems/Loral of Palo Alto, Calif., and is designed to last 15 years.
It will join the fleet of Englewood, Colo.-based Dish Network serving direct-broadcast satellite TV customers in the U.S.
Dish Network disclosed in a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its EchoStar 2 satellite, launched in 1996, failed Monday and appears to be a total loss. As of June 30, the satellite was valued at about $6.4 million, Dish said.
EchoStar 2 had provided local network channel service to Alaska and six other small markets. Those services were restored on another satellite, Dish said.
