BY JUSTIN RAY

Follow the countdown and flight of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket with the Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 communications satellite. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2003

The Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 spacecraft boosted into space Wednesday aboard a Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket promises to relay High-Definition Television services across the United States as part of its joint American and Japanese ownership. Read our full story.

0515 GMT (1:15 a.m. EDT)

Celebrations are underway at the Sea Launch Home Port in Long Beach, California.

"It was a flawless launch," Joe Wright, president and CEO of PanAmSat, said in traditional post-launch speeches occurring right now.

This marked the 10th successful Sea Launch mission out of 11 flights since March 1999. It was the third of four missions planned this year. The final launch of 2003 is expected in late-November, however, the specific payload has not been announced. Officials said four or five missions will take place next year.

0507 GMT (1:07 a.m. EDT)

Ground controllers have acquired signals from the Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 satellite via a tracking station in Fucino, Italy, indicating the spacecraft is functioning following deployment into space tonight.

0503 GMT (1:03 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 60 minutes, 20 seconds. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION! The Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 "combo" satellite built to provide communications services from geostationary orbit has been released from the Block DM-SL upper stage to complete this Sea Launch flight.

In the coming days, the spacecraft will maneuver itself into geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the equator where it can match Earth's rotation and appear parked above 127 degrees West longitude. It will be used by Connecticut-based PanAmSat and Tokyo-based JSAT corporations to provide digital video, Internet and data transmission services to North and Central America, Alaska and Hawaii.

Built by Boeing using the 601HP-model design, the 9,081-pound satellite carries 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders.

The C-band portion of the satellite, known as Galaxy 13, will support PanAmSat's Galaxy cable neighborhood serving the U.S. The spacecraft's Ku-band payload, called Horizons 1, supports the Horizons joint venture of PanAmSat and JSAT. The firms plan to expand Ku-band services in North America and extend them to Japan and Asia via a Hawaii-based relay station.

0458 GMT (12:58 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 55 minutes. Coming up on deployment of the payload from the upper stage in about five minutes. During this coast period between completion of the Block DM-SL stage's second burn and spacecraft separation, the stage is providing the necessary control and orientation for payload release.

0452 GMT (12:52 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 49 minutes, 40 seconds. Shutdown of the Block DM-SL's 11D58M main engine has been confirmed. This completes the powered phase of tonight's launch. The stage will now coast for about 10 minutes before deploying the 9,081-pound Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 satellite at T+plus 60 minutes, 14 seconds.

0452 GMT (12:52 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 49 minutes. The upper stage is nearing completion of its second burn.

0449 GMT (12:49 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 46 minutes, 50 seconds. Engine pressure reported normal.

0449 GMT (12:49 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 46 minutes, 30 seconds. The Block DM-SL upper stage has been re-ignited for a three-minute burn to accelerate satellite cargo into the targeted geosynchronous transfer orbit.

0446 GMT (12:46 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 43 minutes. The coast phase for the upper stage is nearing an end. Officials say the Block DM-SL is in a normal state. Engine ignition is about three minutes away.

0428 GMT (12:28 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 24 minutes. Flying directly over the equator, the Block DM-SL and satellite cargo are now cruising above South America. The duo will be over the Atlantic when the upper stage re-ignites. Spacecraft separation occurs over the western coast of Africa.

0422 GMT (12:22 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 18 minutes, 50 seconds. Sea Launch now confirms that the Block DM-SL upper stage and Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 combo satellite have achieved a low-altitude parking orbit. The next event in the flight will be re-ignition of the stage in about a half-hour.

0419 GMT (12:19 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 16 minutes, 30 seconds. Engine cutoff. The first of two firings by the Block DM-SL upper stage has been completed.

The stage and attached will coast in a preliminary parking orbit around Earth for the next half-hour before the next firing to complete the powered phase of launch.

The stage restart is due to occur at T+plus 46 minutes, 24 seconds into flight. The burn will last until T+plus 49 minutes, 34 seconds.

Spacecraft deployment is scheduled for T+plus 60 minutes, 14 seconds after launch.

0418 GMT (12:18 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 15 minutes, 30 seconds. The upper stage burn is nearing completion.

0412 GMT (12:12 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 9 minutes, 30 seconds. The Block DM-SL stage is stable. This burn will last for another seven minutes.

0412 GMT (12:12 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 9 minutes, 10 seconds. The Block DM-SL upper stage is now firing for the first of two burns to deliver the satellite payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit tonight.

0411 GMT (12:11 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 8 minutes, 55 seconds. The second stage vernier engines have shut down and the spent stage has been jettisoned.

0411 GMT (12:11 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 8 minutes. The vehicle remains stable. Vernier engine performance is normal.

0410 GMT (12:10 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 7 minutes, 30 seconds. The second stage RD-120 main engine has cut off. The vernier engines continue to fire.

0410 GMT (12:10 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 7 minutes, 15 seconds. The second stage is throttling down in preparation for engine cutoff.

0409 GMT (12:09 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 6 minutes, 15 seconds. "Flight is nominal" is still the report from the Sea Launch Commander control ship.

0408 GMT (12:08 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 5 minutes. The Zenit rocket continues on the power of its second stage. The propulsion system performance is reported normal.

0406 GMT (12:06 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 3 minutes, 45 seconds. The command has been issued to jettison the rocket's payload fairing, or nose cone. It protected the satellite cargo during atmospheric ascent. The second stage continues to fire.

0406 GMT (12:06 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 3 minutes, 15 seconds. A nominal flight still being reported.

0405 GMT (12:05 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 2 minutes, 50 seconds. The first stage RD-171 engine has shut down and the spent stage was jettisoned. And the second stage engine has been ignited.

0405 GMT (12:05 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 2 minutes, 15 seconds. Coming up on staging. First stage engine performance is reported normal.

0404 GMT (12:04 a.m. EDT)

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

0404 GMT (12:04 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 1 minute. A nominal flight is being reported for the Zenit 3SL vehicle.

0403 GMT (12:03 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 30 seconds. The Zenit rocket is orienting to the proper heading as its first stage engine fires into the evening sky.

0403 GMT (12:03 a.m. EDT)

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket with the Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 shared communications satellite for PanAmSat and JSAT.

0402 GMT (12:02 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 30 seconds. Final readiness checks have been completed. The Zenits 3SL rocket is ready.

0401 GMT (12:01 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 2 minutes and counting. The engine start preparations are beginning to ready the first stage RD-171 powerplant for ignition. The Russian-made engine has four nozzles and powers the rocket for the first two-and-a-half minutes of flight.

0400 GMT (12:00 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 2 minutes, 30 seconds. The launch range is confirmed clear.

0400 GMT (12:00 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 3 minutes and counting. The spacecraft payload is running on internal power and ready for flight.

0358 GMT (11:58 p.m. EDT Tues.)

T-minus 5 minutes and counting. Liftoff remains set for 0403 GMT. All systems are reported "go" for launch.

0353 GMT (11:53 p.m. EDT Tues.)

T-minus 10 minutes and counting.

0350 GMT (11:50 p.m. EDT Tues.)

The launch site weather conditions are reported to be acceptable for flight tonight.

0348 GMT (11:48 p.m. EDT Tues.)

The countdown is reaching a major milestone as the transporter/erector arm is retracted from against the rocket. The arm was used earlier to roll the rocket out of the environmentally-controlled hangar atop the Odyssey platform and to lift the rocket upright. Once the arm is lowered to the platform deck, it will be rolled back into the hangar and the build doors closed for launch.

0346 GMT (11:46 p.m. EDT Tues.)

The final minutes of the countdown are ticking away to tonight's liftoff of the Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket carrying the Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 spacecraft. The launch is scheduled to occur at 0403 GMT. No problems are being reported by officials.

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 away.

0303 GMT (11:03 p.m. EDT Tues.)

Tonight's launch window opens in one hour. Liftoff of the Sea Launch Zenit rocket is scheduled for 0403 GMT (12:03 a.m. EDT) from the Odyssey platform along the equator in the Pacific.

We will post periodic updates about the final countdown and launch on this page.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2003

From a platform in the Pacific Ocean, a Ukrainian-Russian rocket stands ready for blastoff Tuesday night carrying a commercial communications satellite jointly owned by U.S. and Japanese firms.

The Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket has a 39-minute window extending from 0403 to 0442 GMT (12:03 to 12:42 a.m. EDT) to begin its mission.

The Odyssey launch platform -- a converted Norweigian oil-drilling platform -- and the Sea Launch Commander assembly and control ship arrived at the equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West on Saturday.

On Monday, the rocket was rolled out of its hangar on the platform and erected upright. Fueling of the vehicle with a highly-refined kerosene and super-cold liquid oxygen will occur in the final hours of the countdown.

The rocket's first two stages were built in Ukraine and the Block DM-SL upper stage was manufactured by Energia in Russia. The lower stages will propel the Block DM-SL and attached cargo for the initial eight-and-a-half minutes of flight. The upper stage will then fire for more than five minutes to achieve a low-altitude parking orbit. After a half-hour coast through space, the Block DM-SL will re-ignite for a three-minute burn to accelerate the payload into the desired orbit. Spacecraft deployment to complete the launch occurs 60 minutes and 14 seconds after liftoff.

For this 11th Sea Launch mission, the 9,081-pound Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 combo satellite will be carried into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Built by Boeing using the 601HP-model design with 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders, the spacecraft will be used by Connecticut-based PanAmSat and Tokyo-based JSAT corporations.

After maneuvering itself into geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the equator at 127 degrees West longitude, the spacecraft will provide digital video, Internet and data transmission services to North and Central America, Alaska and Hawaii. It has a projected lifespan of 15 years.

The spacecraft's Ku-band payload, called Horizons 1, supports the Horizons joint venture of PanAmSat and JSAT. The firms plan to expand Ku-band services in North America and extend services to Japan and Asia via a Hawaii-based relay station.

The C-band portion of the satellite, known as Galaxy 13, will support PanAmSat's Galaxy cable neighborhood serving the U.S.

This mission will be Sea Launch's third in 2003. Officials say they consortium has a backlog of 15 firm launch contracts.

Sea Launch is marketed by Boeing Launch Services. Earlier this year, Boeing stopped promoting the next-generation Delta 4 rocket for commercial satellite missions. That decision makes Sea Launch Boeing's prime offering in the fierce commercial competition between Arianespace's Ariane 5 and International Launch Services Atlas and Proton families. The Delta 4, originally envisioned as a commercial launcher, is now entirely focused on military and NASA business.

Watch this page for updates during the final minutes of the countdown and the Zenit 3SL rocket's flight.