An Atlas rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday night. Photo by Craig Rubadoux, FLORIDA TODAY
Posted on 02/05/2004 11:44:31 PM PST by serurier
TV Satellite Launched from Cape Canaveral CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An Atlas 2 rocket carrying a television relay satellite launched successfully from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, the first of the year for International Launch Services. Lift-off came at 6:46 p.m. EST from launch complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Florida's Atlantic seaboard. The launch was delayed briefly by a balky valve during fueling. ILS, a partnership between Lockheed Martin Corp., builder of the Atlas rocket, and the Khrunichev Space Center in Russia, has 15 launches on its books for 2004, nine using Atlas-Centaur rockets and six using Russian Proton rockets, the McLean, Virginia-based company said. "We have a very busy year ahead of us," said company president Mark Albrecht. The Atlas carried a satellite owned by SES Americom, whose president and CEO, Dean Olmstead, said the total cost of launching the satellite, including the Atlas-Centaur rocket and insurance to cover hardware loss, amounted to about $250 million. The 5,159-pound AMC-10 satellite is part of a new generation of satellites for SES Americom, a unit of SES Global. SES Americom is expanding the number of High Definition Television channels it can provide. "We're expanding our High Definition content and there should be a couple of announcements to come," said Olmstead. "The time for High Definition has come."
Michael
Wow. Great information, thank you so much!
It's a relay bird for cable providers, service life 10-15 years, HD capable. Nice work!
Michael
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