LONG BEACH, Calif.—A new satellite for Dish Network Corp. was successfully launched from an seagoing rocket pad positioned in the equatorial Pacific, Sea Launch Co. said.
The Zenit-3SL rocket carrying the EchoStar XI satellite lifted off at 10:21 p.m. PDT Tuesday from Sea Launch Co.’s Odyssey platform.
The spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket and a ground station outside of Perth, Australia, acquired its first signal 70 minutes after liftoff, spokeswoman Paula Korn said in a Webcast from the company’s home port in Long Beach, Calif.
“As always, we’re bulls-eye,” said Kjell Karlsen, Sea Launch president and general manager.
The satellite was built by Space Systems/Loral of Palo Alto, Calif., and is designed to last 15 years.
It will join Englewood, Colo.-based Dish Network’s fleet serving direct-broadcast satellite TV customers in the U.S.
Sea Launch is owned by the Boeing Co., RSC-Energia of Russia, Aker ASA of Norway and SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Ukraine.
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