Launch of Thuraya-1 Satellite Set for 21st October
17 October 2000
Abu Dhabi: The launch of Thuraya-1, the first satellite for the UAE-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company is set for 21 October 2000 (UAE time). Thuraya-1 will be launched by a Sea Launch rocket from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, near the equator.
The launch mission will start on 21st October at 6:15 a.m. Greenwich time (that is 10:15 a.m. UAE time, on 21 October 2000). The launch will be proceeded by the opening of the launch window which will last for 45 minutes. The launch mission will be broadcast live on UAE satellite TV channels, and some regional satellite TV channels. The mission is expected to take 2 hours and 22 minutes before the satellite is successfully delivered, however TV transmission is expected to start by half an hour earlier.
With 5,108 kg. (11,260 pound) payload, Thuraya-1 is among the world’s largest commercial satellites, and the heaviest to launch on the Zenit-3SL rocket to date. It is also the first mobile telecommunications satellite initiated by the Middle Eastern region. Thuraya’s mobile satellite system will provide world-class mobile satellite telephony to nearly 100 countries in Europe, north and central Africa, the Middle East, central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Designed for a 12-year lifespan, Thuraya-1 will be placed in geo-synchronous orbit at 44 degrees East Longitude, inclined at 6.3 degrees, 36,000 km (approximately 22,500 miles) above the Earth. Boeing Satellite Systems (formerly Hughes Space and Communications) built the Boeing GEM (geo-synchronous-mobile) model spacecraft in El Segundo, California.
For more information on the launch of Thuraya-1, visit Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com