WASHINGTON, D.C., November 8 (RIA Novosti, Alexei Berezin) - The UK-built Inmarsat I-4 communications satellite was launched into orbit by a Ukrainian rocket Tuesday as part of the international Sea Launch project.
The I-4 was successfully put into space by the Zenit 3SL booster from the Odyssey floating launch pad in the Pacific Ocean at 2:07 p.m. GMT (10:07 a.m. EDT) and directed into orbit an hour and 25 minutes later, a spokesperson for the launch contractor, Sea Launch Inc., said, adding that the satellite's first signal was expected to be received on Earth 25 minutes after spacecraft separation.
Initially set for November 5, the liftoff was rescheduled for Nov. 8 owing to an automated halt in the launch countdown system prior to fueling.
The I-4 is the second in a series of satellites designed by British telecom giant Inmarsat to beam broadband data and voice services to virtually any location on the planet.
