Sea Launch advised Eutelsat Communications to postpone the scheduled launch of its Eutelsat 3B satellite on April 15 due to installation discrepancy.
Sea Launch, which was established in 1995, is an international non-governmental enterprise that offers spacecraft launch service. It uses a mobile maritime platform for equatorial launches of commercial payloads on specialized Zenit 3SL rockets.
While installing the integrated launch vehicle onto the launch pad during the last "dry" roll-out phase, they found a discrepancy that involves a nominal movement of the cable-mast and the Zenit-2S launch vehicle lateral plate. This prompted Sea Launch to advise the delay of the launch for them to find the cause and resolve the discrepancy in the Payload Unit, which involves the satellite, the adapter, the fairing, and the Block-DM-Sea Launch. This will also let them to further check the interface between the launch vehicle and the connectors in the Ground Support Equipment.
According to a press release, the satellite was not turned on during the last "dry" roll-out phase on the launch vehicle so it was not affected of the errors and is still in a safe configuration.
After carrying such tasks and ensuring the wellness of both the launch vehicle and the Ground Support Equipment, Sea Launch will advise Eutelsat of the new schedule and launch date for the Eutelsat 3B satellite.
Eutelsat Communications is one of the most experienced operators of communications satellites in the world. It provides capacity on 36 satellites to clients, which includes pay-TV operators, Internet service providers, broadcasters and broadcasting associations, and government agencies. It provides coverage in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
It operates the Eutelsat 3B satellite that is designed to increase and expand Eutelsat's resources and footprint. It is also designed to replace the Eutelsat 3D satellite, which will be redeployed to continue full commercial service in another orbital location.
