Today's flight for Sea Launch has been declared a success.

"We take great pride in having successfully delivered Eutelsat's spacecraft accurately into its designated transfer orbit. Once again, the Zenit-3SL/B has proven itself as a reliable and accurate launch system with an overall launch success rate of 95 percent," said Kjell Karlsen, president of Sea Launch AG

"To our colleagues at the launch site and around the world – well done! Your dedication to perfection reflects the best of what Sea Launch represents."

Controllers have established contact with the Intelsat spacecraft via a ground tracking station following today's launch into orbit.

Operators will spend the coming days maneuvering the spacecraft into its circular geostationary orbit. Deployment of the craft's appendages and testing will follow before the satellite goes operational next month.

"The flexible Eutelsat 70B satellite will further consolidate Eutelsat's commercial response to clients providing video, data and telecoms services in a vast footprint encompassing Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia," said Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO

"Our thanks go to Sea Launch AG, Energia Logistics and RSC Energia for this flawless launch and their professionalism throughout the campaign. With tonight's launch successfully completed, we are now fully focused on working with our industrial partner Astrium, to bring Eutelsat 70B into full commercial service in January 2013."

T+plus 66 minutes, 5 seconds. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION! The Eutelsat 70B spacecraft has been released from the Block DM-SL upper stage to complete today's Sea Launch flight, embarking on an international communications relay mission.

Paris-based Eutelsat will operate the commercial satellite in geostationary orbit at its 70.5-degree East longitude location to provide communications relay, government services, broadband access and GSM mobile networking.

It replaces Eutelsat 70A, originally named W5, that was launched atop the inaugural Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral in November 2002. But that aging craft suffered a power system malfunction in 2008 and lost part of its transponder payload, making it a target for replacement.

The newly launched Eutelsat 70B will deploy its vast footprint from Europe to Australia, doubling the telecommunications capacity available from that vantage point in space.

Astrium built the 11,574-pound satellite using its Eurostar E-3000 platform and equipped Eutelsat 70B with 48 Ku-band transponders. It has a design life exceeding 15 years.

The next Sea Launch mission is planned for January when the Intelsat 27 satellite is delivered into orbit for communications services to media, network and government customers over the Americas and Europe.

T+plus 61 minutes. Deployment of the spacecraft from the upper stage is just over five minutes away as the rocket flies above the Indian Ocean.

During this coast period between completion of the Block DM-SL stage's burn and spacecraft separation, the stage is providing the necessary control and orientation for payload release.

T+plus 56 minutes, 20 seconds. The Block DM-SL's 11D58M main engine has shut down, completing the powered phase of today's launch. The stage will now coast for approximately 10 minutes before deploying the Eutelsat 70B satellite.

T+plus 54 minutes. The rocket is soaring high above Africa during the completion of this engine firing.

T+plus 51 minutes. The Block DM-SL is stable as this six-minute burn gets underway.

T+plus 50 minutes. Ignition! The upper stage has reignited to send Eutelsat 70B into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

T+plus 45 minutes. The vehicle is crossing the Atlantic Ocean as coasts higher in altitude, awaiting restart of the main engine.

T+plus 40 minutes. Ten minutes from the engine restart. Nothing reported amiss as the coast phase of the ascent continues.

T+plus 30 minutes. Now 20 minutes away from the next engine burn.

T+plus 25 minutes. The rocket is coasting over South America. Sea Launch reports the flight is progressing nominally.

T+plus 19 minutes. The upper stage will coast in this orbit until the Block DM-SL reignites at T+plus 50 minutes for the firing to achieve geosynchronous transfer orbit. The burn should last about six minutes. Deployment of Eutelsat 70B to complete today's launch is expected about 66 minutes after liftoff.

T+plus 14 minutes, 5 seconds. Engine cutoff. The Block DM-SL upper stage has completed its first burn, which was designed to inject the motor and attached Eutelsat 70B spacecraft into a temporary parking orbit around Earth.

T+plus 13 minutes, 15 seconds. Everything continues to look good in today's flight, according to Sea Launch.

T+plus 12 minutes. The Block DM-SL main engine is burning a mixture of highly refined kerosene propellant and supercold liquid oxygen.

T+plus 10 minutes. The Block DM-SL is stable and firing normally. This burn of the upper stage will last just over five minutes.

T+plus 8 minutes, 50 seconds. The Block DM-SL upper stage has ignited for today's first of two firings to propel the Eutelsat 70B spacecraft from the current suborbital trajectory to geosynchronous transfer orbit.

T+plus 8 minutes, 35 seconds. The second stage vernier engines have shut down and jettisoning of the spent stage has occurred.

T+plus 8 minutes. Venier engine pressures are normal.

T+plus 7 minutes, 30 seconds. NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System has acquired the vehicle's signal to receive telemetry for transmission to Sea Launch ground engineers.

T+plus 7 minutes, 15 seconds. The second stage RD-120 main engine has shut down. The vernier steering engines are still burning as designed.

T+plus 7 minutes. The second stage is throttling down in preparation for engine cutoff.

T+plus 6 minutes, 30 seconds. Second stage engine performance is normal as the motor continues to fire.

T+plus 5 minutes, 30 seconds. Flight remains normal for the Sea Launch rocket following today's liftoff at 2044 GMT. The second stage engine continues to burn.

T+plus 4 minutes, 30 seconds. The rocket remains stable on the second stage propulsion.

T+plus 4 minutes. The rocket's payload fairing, or nose cone, has been jettisoned. It protected the satellite cargo during atmospheric ascent.

T+plus 3 minutes. The rocket's second stage has throttled up as the Zenit flies stably and a nominal flight continues.

T+plus 2 minutes, 40 seconds. The second stage engine has been ignited for its firing. A good staging confirmed.

T+plus 2 minutes, 30 seconds. The first stage RD-171 engine has shut down and the spent stage was jettisoned.

T+plus 2 minutes. A good flight of the Zenit booster is being reported from launch control.

T+plus 1 minute, 30 seconds. Official liftoff time was marked at 2043:59.237 GMT.

T+plus 1 minute, 10 seconds. The vehicle has passed through the region of maximum dynamic pressure.

T+plus 30 seconds. The 20-story rocket is riding the thrust of the first stage main engine as it powers into the equatorial skies. The Russian-made engine has four nozzles and propels the rocket for the first two-and-a-half minutes of flight.

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket and the Eutelsat 70B communications satellite, connecting continents from space.

T-minus 1 minute. The rocket stands pressurized and ready for blastoff as the automatic launch sequence enters the final 60 seconds.

T-minus 2 minutes. Launch readiness remains GO.

T-minus 3 minutes. The hangar door on the Odyssey deck is closed for launch.

T-minus 4 minutes. The erector arm has returned to the hangar.

T-minus 5 minutes and counting to the 34th Sea Launch mission.

T-minus 6 minutes and counting. Sea Launch reports everything is looking good for liftoff at 2044 GMT from the Odyssey platform.

T-minus 7 minutes and counting. Eutelsat 70B will provide interconnectivity between its four continental beams focused on Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia that provide broadband access, mobile telephone networking and video broadcasting.

T-minus 10 minutes and counting for the launch of Eutelsat 70B to provide telecommunications services linking Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

T-minus 11 minutes. Eutelsat 70B is confirmed on internal power and ready for launch.

T-minus 14 minutes and counting. The transporter/erector arm has pulled away from the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket. The arm was used to roll the rocket out of the environmentally-controlled hangar atop the Odyssey platform and lift the rocket upright yesterday.

The arm is being lowered to the platform deck where it will be returned to the hangar and the doors closed for launch.

Fueling operations have been completed aboard the Odyssey platform. Over the past couple of hours, the rocket was loaded with kerosene propellant and cryogenic liquid oxygen. The platform was cleared of all workers prior to this hazardous activity, with all personnel moved to the Sea Launch Commander ship safely positioned about three miles uprange.

Sea Launch's live mission coverage is now streaming.

T-minus 19 minutes. The Eutelsat 70B satellite payload nestled in the Sea Launch rocket's nose cone has transitioned to internal battery power for liftoff.

T-minus 30 minutes. The countdown remains on schedule today with no problems reported by Sea Launch. The team completed its clear-to-launch readiness poll and confirmed all events are "go" for flight on-time today.

T-minus 35 minutes. Loading of the highly refined kerosene fuel into the Zenit rocket has been completed.

T-minus 50 minutes. A readiness check confirms all systems are operating properly in the countdown with no problems being reported.

T-minus 60 minutes. The automated launch sequence is moving along as planned for today's launch only an hour away. A check of the weather shows all conditions are acceptable for liftoff at 3:44 p.m. EST.

T-minus 2 hours and counting! Fueling operations are proceeding as the countdown continues to tick for today's flight of the Sea Launch rocket just two hours from now. The loading supercold liquid oxygen into the vehicle began around 1:40 p.m. EST. Filling of highly refined kerosene will begin shortly. The Odyssey platform was cleared of all workers by 12:45 p.m. EST.

The final hours of the countdown are underway as dawn begins to break over the Sea Launch vessels at the equator. Officials report the T-minus 6 hour readiness check occurred and the authorization has been given to start into the automatic process for today's launch at 2044 GMT (3:44 p.m. EST).

A live stream of the flight begins around 2028 GMT (3:28 p.m. EST).

Replacing the international communications satellite deployed by the maiden Delta 4 rocket a decade ago, a Sea Launch booster carrying the Eutelsat 70B spacecraft is scheduled for blastoff from its floating pad in the Pacific on Monday.

The powerful new bird will operate in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above Earth and cover a vast footprint from Europe to Australia, doubling the telecommunications capacity available from that vantage point in space.

It will replace the Eutelsat 70A satellite, originally named W5, that was launched atop the inaugural Delta 4 from Cape Canaveral in November 2002. But that aging craft suffered a power system malfunction in 2008 and lost part of its transponder payload, making it a target for replacement.

Sea Launch rolled out its Zenit 3SL rocket from the protective hangar and erected it vertically Sunday in preparation for the mid-day blastoff Monday.

It will be the fourth flight for Sea Launch since the firm emerged from bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, having successfully gotten back into the business of hauling satellites to space in September 2011 with another Eutelsat payload.

The 20-story-tall Zenit 3SL rocket is targeting a 2044 GMT (3:44 p.m. EST) launch from the ocean-going platform stationed in the equatorial waters of the Pacific about 1,400 miles southeast of Hawaii. The day's available launch window extends 54 minutes to 2138 GMT (4:38 p.m. EST).

It is Sea Launch's 34th mission since the inaugural flight in March 1999. The company's concept takes a direct route into the orbit desired by geosynchronous communications satellites along the equator.

Paris-based Eutelsat will use this newest satellite to provide communications relay, government services, broadband access and GSM mobile networking.

Astrium built the 11,574-pound satellite using its Eurostar E-3000 platform and equipped Eutelsat 70B with 48 Ku-band transponders. It has a design life exceeding 15 years.

The Sea Launch fleet reached the launch site Friday after steaming for more than a week from the company's home port in Long Beach, California. The launch pad known as Odyssey set sail first, followed later by the departure of the Sea Launch Commander vessel, which houses the launch control center, management team and official guests.

Odyssey's ballast tanks were filled with seawater upon arrival at the launch site, dropping the converted Norwegian oil-drilling platform to the launch depth of 65 feet. Control teams also commenced the standard 72-hour countdown on Friday.

The Sea Launch Commander then pulled alongside Odyssey to allow workers to easily transfer between the two ships.

The rocket was rolled out from its hangar aboard Odyssey and hydraulically hoisted upright on the launch pedestal Sunday.

Odyssey is positioned along the equator at 154 degrees West longitude. The rocket will fly eastward, ultimately releasing its payload high above the Indian Ocean.

The three-stage Zenit booster will take just over an hour to complete its role in delivering the Eutelsat 70B payload into a planned orbit with a low point of 857 miles and a high point of about 22,143 miles. The injection orbit's inclination will be tilted zero degrees relative to the equator.

Eutelsat 70B will use its own propulsion system to circularize the orbit to geosynchronous altitude, where its velocity will match that of Earth's rotation and appear parked at 70.5 degrees East longitude to cover Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Launch controllers will spend the last hours of Monday's countdown making final preparations to the rocket, payload and ground infrastructure. The Sea Launch Commander moves from the Odyssey platform to a safe viewing distance about three miles away.

Fueling operations will get underway about two-and-a-half hours prior to the scheduled liftoff time. A mix of refined kerosene and liquid oxygen comprise the propellant used by all three stages of the launch vehicle.

After igniting its main engine and ascending from the platform, the Zenit 3SL will fly downrange on a due east trajectory hugging the equator. The four-chamber RD-171 engine on the Ukrainian-made first stage ramps up to a maximum of 1.6 million pounds of thrust during its burn lasting two-and-a-half minutes.

Once the first stage separates 43 miles up, the RD-120 powerplant on Ukrainian-made second stage will come to life. During that firing, the payload fairing that shielded the Eutelsat 70B satellite during the climb through the denser lower atmosphere will be jettisoned 73 miles in altitude at T+plus 3 minutes, 47 seconds.

Some eight minutes, 31 seconds after blastoff is the point when the second stage will separate from the Russian Block-DM upper stage and payload at an altitude of 116 miles. Ten seconds later, the motor will ignite for an five-minute, 20-second burn to place itself in a temporary parking orbit with a low point of 112 miles and a high point of 965 miles.

Following a lengthy coast phase, the Block-DM will ignite again at T+plus 50 minutes for a six-minute, 16-second boost to inject Eutelsat 70B into its targeted geosynchronous transfer orbit.

Spacecraft separation from the rocket to complete the launch is expected 66 minutes into flight, or 2150 GMT (4:50 p.m. EST) based on an on-time liftoff.

Check this page during the launch for live updates on the mission's progress.

And if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates sent to your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)