Satellite Reaches Orbit After First Commercial Launch From Ocean

A dummy satellite orbited 23,000 miles above Earth on Monday, signaling success for the innovative launch pad floating in the Pacific Ocean at the equator.

The demonstration was a critical step for Sea Launch Co., which has put $500 million into the first commercial marine-based launch system in hopes of capturing a chunk of the growing business of boosting communications satellites.

“The mission is considered a complete success,” said Tim Dolan, spokesman for Boeing Co., which owns part of Sea Launch, an international consortium based in Long Beach. “You can indeed launch a rocket of that size from a floating platform.”

The Ukrainian- and Russian-built Zenit-3SL rocket carried a dummy satellite as it lifted off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday from the Odyssey, a converted oil rig stationed 1,400 miles south of Hawaii.

Fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen, the three-stage rocket ignited and engulfed the platform in a cloud of smoke, then rapidly hurtled toward space. About an hour later, the satellite separated from the third stage of the rocket at an altitude of 1,200 miles and continued toward its ultimate position 23,000 miles above Earth.