On December 3, 2012 at 22:44:55 Kiev time, the Zenit-3SL launch vehicle successfully launched the Eutelsat W5A weighing 5262 kilograms, from the ocean-going Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned on the equator in the Pacific Ocean near Christmas Island (Republic of Kiribati). This was the third mission under the Sea Launch program launched in 2012.

The teams of Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash, as part of the international team, were in charge of prelaunch preparation and launch.

The Zenit-3SL integrated launch vehicle was designed at Yuzhnoye State Design office. Its first and second stages were designed at Yuzhnoye and manufactured at Yuzhmash plant in cooperation with Russian and Ukrainian enterprises. The third stage (Block DM-SL) was designed and manufactured by Rocket Space Corporation Energia, Russia.

The Еutelsat W5A satellite is based on Astrium’s Eurostar E-3000 bus. Its designed in-orbit lifetime is over 15 years. The Еutelsat W5A will replace the Eutelsat W5 spacecraft that has stayed in orbit since 2002.

Its four powerful fixed beams focus over a zone which covers: Europe, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia reaching as far as Australia. Through a high-degree of onboard connectivity, clients will have an opportunity to use the beams either for regional coverage or to interconnect continents.

The Sea Launch international consortium was established in 1995. After reorganization in 2010, the major share of the Sea Launch stock belongs to Energia Overseas Limited, a lower-tier subsidiary of the Russian RSC Energia. To date, Sea Launch has launched 33 Zenit-3SL rockets from its floating pad in the Pacific. For additional Еutelsat W5A mission info and images, please visit the Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com.

Yuzhnoye Public Relations Center