Mission Profile
The Sea Launch team placed the Thuraya-2 satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, with the spacecraft separating from the upper stage at 1,388 miles above the Pacific Ocean on June 10, 2003.
Launching from its equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude, Sea Launch inserted the spacecraft directly into the required 6.3 degree inclined orbit, an optimal orbital location for the Thuraya system.
Two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, the first stage and then the payload fairing separated. Six minutes later, the second stage separated from the Block DM-SL, or upper stage. After the first burn of the Block DM-SL, the spacecraft coasted for about one hour, performing thermal maneuvers, such as a slow roll, to maintain a benign satellite environment. Following this coast, the Block DM-SL made a second burn. Soon after spacecraft separation about 25 minutes later, Boeing Satellite Systems acquired the signal of the spacecraft from a ground station in Uralla, Australia.
Designed for a 12-15 year lifespan, the satellite will be positioned in Geosynchronous Orbit, 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above the Earth, at
44 degrees East Longitude and inclined at 6.3 degrees.