AMOS 3 launch atop Zenit-3SLB - April 28, 2008

[SiberianTiger]

The preparations are under way at Baikonur Cosmodrome for the launch at April 24, 2008. The time set for launch is:

11:00 Baikonur local time
09:00 Moscow Summer Time
05:00 UTC
1:00 A.M. EDT

The Israeli AMOS 3 satellite is going to provide communications services for customers in Europe, Middle East, Africa and North America operated by Space-Communication Ltd (Spacecom) company.
AMOS-3 will be co-located at 4W, eventually replacing AMOS-1. AMOS-3 will enhance the existing AMOS platform with additional capacity, expanded coverage areas and advanced capabilities such as Ka-band and steerable beams.

The satellite is developed and provided by IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries).

Eastern Europe coverage:

Middle Eastern coverage:

US coverage:

The fixed Ka beam:

The steerable beams coverage:

Satellite Data (Pre-Launch Data)

Manufacturer : Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI)
Orbital Location : 4 West
Launch Date : April 2008 (scheduled)
Mission period : 15 years
# of 36MHz : 24 (Ku Band)
segments
# of Ka Band : 3 (Up-to 425MHz each)
channels
Beams : ME, EU, US, Steerable
Polarizations :

Ku - Linear (V & H)
Ka - Circular (RHCP & LHCP)
Frequency Bands :

Ku band uplink : 14.00 to 14.50 GHZ
Ku band downlink : 10.95 to 11.45 GHZ
Ka band uplink : 29.40 to 30.60 GHZ
Ka band downlink : 19.60 to 20.80 GHZ
EIRP at beam center :

Ku band : 59 dBW (ME)
58 dBW (EU)
54 dBW (US)
Ka band : 54 dBW (Fixed beam)
G/T at beam center :

Ku Band : 14 dB/k (ME)
13 dB/k (EU)
13 dB/k (US)
Ka Band : 11.5 dB/k (Fixed beam)

 

[SiberianTiger]

Pictures of the payload integration in the Vehicle assembly facility at Area 31 of Baikonur. The AMOS 3 - Block DM-SLB stack, previously fueled, got turned over to horizontal position and rolled over with a payload shroud.

 

[SiberianTiger]

According to Roscosmos Press Bureau, the preparatory works are under way at Baikonur Cosmodrome in the course of the ongoing launch of Israeli AMOS-3 satellite atop a Zenit-3SLB rocket with DM-SLB upper stage. The launch service is provided by the international joint enterprise, Land Launch.

Today the launch vehicle has been rolled out and erected at the pad in the Cosmodrome's Area 45.

 

[SiberianTiger]

The launch has been postponded until tomorrow, the cause is unspecified. The rocket underwent a fuel dumping.

 

[SiberianTiger]

The cause for the launch scrub was a failure of the carrier train engine to start moving away from the launch pad during the final minutes of the countdown. According to a Zenit's launch procedure, its mast serves as a support structure for the rocket until the last minutes before the blast off.

So now they have to fix this engine for the tomorrow's opportunity, or they will have to miss the Saturday and Sunday too, because of the dual religious issue on the customer's (Sabbath) and the contractor's (Orthodox Easter) sides... :angel:

 

[simonpro]

The launch postponement was caused by the erector failing to depart the launch area at the correct time. Shouldn't be too hard to fix, sounds like a software issue.

(edit) Oh, Tiger posted at the same time. Tigers is more descriptive

 

[SiberianTiger]

Blast off!

The launch has been commenced at 09:00 MSK (05:00 GMT)

Following the first DM-SLB upperstage burn, the spacecraft Amos-3 has been delivered to a parking orbit.
The second (at 06:15 GMT) and the planned third (at 12:05:50 GMT) burns the spacecraft will be transferred from the GTO to GEO (at approx 12:08 GMT).

The upper stage / spacecraft separation is planned to 12:19:11 GMT.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Mind the pace: AMOS-3 was launched within a day from the previous launch (GIOVE-B) from Baikonur!

 

[SiberianTiger]

Spacecraft separation confirmed!

:clap:

 

[SiberianTiger]

Launch video

 

[SiberianTiger]

Pictures of the launch:

 

[Notebook]

Nice pictures and video, pitches over rather quickly dosen't it!

N.