U.S. Satellite Galaxy-18 Launched into Space

The Russian- Ukrainian rocket Zenit-3SLB has taken the U.S. telecommunications satellite Galaxy-18 into Earth orbit, the Mission Control Center located in Korolyov, Moscow region, has reported.

Galaxy-18 was made by specialists from the U.S. company Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) on the basis of the SS/L-1300 platform. The satellite was ordered by the company Intelsat. Its takeoff mass is 4,642 kilos.

The purpose of the satellite is to render cable television and high-speed data transmission services and other telecommunications services to people in North American and Hawaii.

The taking of Galaxy-18 into orbit is the third successful launch under the Sea Launch program. The rocket Zenit-3SLB launched the U.S. spacecraft DirecTV-11 into space n March 20 and the Arab satellite Thuraya-D3 on January 15.

The company Sea Launch was created in 1995. It was founded by the Boeing Commercial Space Company (headquartered in Seattle, U.S., 40% of shares), the space corporation Energiya (headquartered in Korolyov, Moscow region of Russia, 25% of shares), Kvaerner Maritimea.s. (headquartered in Oslo, Norway, 20% of shares), the state-run design bureau Yuzhnoye (headquartered in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, 15% of shares), and the industrial association Yuzhmash (headquartered in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, 15% of shares).