Countdown: Telstar 11N Ready for Liftoff

As those of you who have been following along at home no doubt know, Telstar Logistics is named in honor of Telstar 1, the worlds first telecommunications satellite, launched in 1962.  But Telstar 1 was not the last of the orbital Telstars, not at all. Many more satellites in the Telstar series have been launched during the last 45+ years, and if all goes according to plan, the newest Telstar satellite, Telstar 11N, will hurl into space at 10:30 am Pacific Time (18:30 GMT) today, February 26, 2009, from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan. Here are the details of about Telstar 11N's mission:

Preparations are underway for the launch of the Telstar 11N satellite on the Land Launch system on February 26, at 18:30 GMT. Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) built this satellite for Telesat, one of the world's leading fixed satellite services operators, to provide high powered, state-of-the-art satellite capacity for a broad range of video and data applications. With 39 high-power Ku-band transponders, Telstar 11N, weighing about 4,012 kg (8,845 lb), is based on the SS/L 1300 platform which provides flexibility for a broad range of applications. The spacecraft also has a unique Atlantic Ocean beam, which will support growing demand for mobile broadband from maritime and aeronautical markets. Following launch, Telstar 11N will operate from 37.5 degrees West Longitude and will connect the continents of North America, Europe and Africa.

 

Want to watch the launch live? Pour yourself a cup of coffee, put on your pocket protector and horn-rim glasses, and tune into the live webcast from Baikonur, here.

UPDATE 26 Feb, 2009, 20:55

Liftoff! Trajectory! Orbit! Today's launch of Telstar 11N was at rocket-fueled success. Spaceflight Now reports:

The Zenit 3SLB booster launched at 1830 GMT (1:30 p.m. EST) Thursday from pad 45 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, beginning the second mission of a Sea Launch spinoff program aimed serving the market for medium-class communications satellites.

Propelled by a four-nozzle RD-171 engine, the 192-foot-tall launcher darted into the night sky and flew to an altitude of 52 miles before jettisoning the first stage about two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.

The Zenit's second stage ignited for a six-minute firing, during which the rocket shed its nose cone after it transited the dense lower layers of the atmosphere.

The Block DM-SLB upper stage continued the push toward orbit moments after separating from the second stage. The kerosene-fueled stage first placed the rocket and the Telstar 11N satellite into a temporary low-altitude parking orbit, then gradually raised the craft's altitude and lowered its inclination.

The upper stage released the 8,840-pound satellite a few seconds before 0026 GMT Friday (7:26 p.m. EST Thursday), completing the Land Launch consortium's second mission since beginning services in April 2008.

A ground station in Australia acquired radio signals from Telstar 11N a few minutes later, confirming the craft survived the trip to space.

LINK:

Telstar 11 Mission Page (by Sea Launch)

PREVIOUSLY:

A Brief History of All Telstars

Happy 45th Anniversary, Telstar 1!

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