Stranded Satellite’s Sister Unit Is Put in Orbit Without a Hitch

A $150-million communications satellite similar to the one that ended up stranded in a useless orbit three months ago was launched to its proper altitude Saturday, officials said.

The Intelsat VI satellite rode into orbit on a Titan 3 unmanned rocket, which lifted off on time from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was the same kind of rocket that had left the earlier Intelsat VI satellite stranded.

The satellite separated from the rocket 25 minutes after liftoff, bringing cheers and applause in the mission control room. A rocket wiring problem prevented separation after the March 14 launch.

“We’re all very anxious to see this mission totally successful, and we’re certainly expecting it to be that way,” said Edward M. Browne, president of Martin Marietta Commercial Titan Inc. “When that thing went off (separated), we were all very happy.”

A little more than an hour after liftoff, an on-board motor boosted the satellite to an elliptical orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. A series of firings over the next several days will put the spacecraft in a circular, stationary orbit.

Browne said that the $270-million launch, which includes the cost of the satellite, was “super . . . totally flawless.”

The stranded earlier spacecraft is orbiting about 345 miles above the Earth, 22,000 miles lower than intended. Intelsat’s board of governors agreed earlier this month to pay NASA $90 million for a shuttle rescue mission in which space-walking astronauts will attach a motor to the stranded satellite to boost it to its proper orbit. That mission is scheduled for 1992.