SES Global announced Tuesday it has contracted with the Sea Launch Company for a mission on its Land Launch system to send the AMC-21 spacecraft into orbit in mid-2008.
Land Launch will use a Zenit-3SLB vehicle to launch the AMC-21 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Both the satellite and the launch vehicle will be integrated and launched from the Zenit processing and launch facilities at Baikonur.
Land Launch uses a Zenit-3SLB version of the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket.
Weighing about 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) at launch, AMC-21 is being manufactured by Alcatel Alenia Space. The satellite will be built on the small-sized spacecraft platform STAR-2 of Orbital Sciences Corp.
AMC-21 will carry 24 Ku-band transponders, operate from orbital location of 125 degrees west longitude, and provide coverage of the United States and the Caribbean. The satellite will be operated and marketed by SES Americom.
AMC-21 will be the first satellite of an SES company to use Land Launch. AsiaSat, an SES affiliate, has contracted with Sea Launch for the AsiaSat-5 satellite, under construction by Space Systems/Loral and scheduled for launch in late 2008 by Land Launch.
