DirecTV Launch a Step Closer

[silversurfer]

From our friends at SkyReport.com

Once it delivers Loral Skynet's Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 satellite in January, Sea Launch said it will prepare the launch of DirecTV's next satellite, DirecTV 7-S.

No specific date was given by the companies. But once the Loral mission is complete, Sea Launch said it will immediately initiate operations to launch the Space Systems/Loral-built DirecTV-7S satellite. The DirecTV flight will be Sea Launch's second mission for the satellite TV company, following Sea Launch's maiden commercial mission in October 1999 with the DirecTV 1-R spacecraft.

Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space and Communications, said it recently shipped the Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 satellite to the Sea Launch Home Port in Long Beach, Calif., where it will be prepared for the early January launch. More than 50 percent of the satellite's power will be dedicated to Brazil, and it will operate at 63 degrees West.

In the spring, following the DirecTV flight, Sea Launch said it will lift Loral's Telstar 18 satellite into orbit. Loral and APT Satellite will use the spacecraft.

 

[ScottChez]

So is this the SAT that will allow for the 30 more Direct TV locals?

Or is that SAt ALREADY up?

Looking for the Omaha Locals.

 

[mini1]

Directv 7S launch date?

Hi, Does anyone know when Directv will set a launch date for the 7S? Why was the launch date moved backed in first place? How long will it take them to fully test the satellite and be able to start using it for the local channels and which local markets will they make available first and which will come last, in what time frame? Thanks for the help!

 

[mini1]

Thanks for the info!

 

[silversurfer]

The launch is scheduled sometime during the month of February. It usually takes about 30 days to fully test and begin using a satellite. Below is a list of the locals coming to D* in 2004.

COMING IN EARLY 2004
Good news! Local channels are coming to these areas in early 2004:

• Albany, NY
• Albuquerque, NM
• Bakersfield, CA
• Baton Rouge, LA
• Charleston, WV
• Chico, CA
• Corpus Christi, TX
• Dayton, OH
• Duluth, MN
• El Paso, TX
• Eugene, OR
• Fargo-Valley City, ND
• Flint-Saginaw, MI
• Fresno, CA
• Ft. Myers, FL
• Harlingen, TX
• Harrisburg, PA
• Lafayette, LA
• Lansing, MI
• Lexington, KY
• Little Rock, AR
• Madison, WI
• Medford, OR
• Mobile, AL
• Monterey, CA
• Omaha, NE
• Paducah, KY
• Portland, ME
• Reno, NV
• Rochester, NY
• Santa Barbara, CA
• Savannah, GA
• South Bend, IN
• Spokane, WA
• Tallahassee, FL
• Topeka, KS
• Tulsa, OK
• Tyler, TX
• Wichita-Hutchinson, KS
• Wilmington, NC
• Yakima, WA

 

[mini1]

~Here are 18 more markets to add to the above list, that DirecTV will add around mid year or earlier. The above new locals are now set to launch in April!! All, except Springfield, MA will be on the DirecTV 5 satellite below, when it moves into it's new location at 72.5 degrees. These new cites will be required, at this point, to use a second 18in. dish to receive the new stations (with the exception of Springfield, MA).
~The new market additions are: Boise, Idaho; Burlington, Vt.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Champaign-Springfield, Ill.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Columbia, Mo.; Davenport, Ill.; Evansville, Ind.; Fort Smith, Ark.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Johnson City, Tenn.; Johnstown-Altoona, Pa., Lincoln, Neb.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Springfield, Mass.; Springfield, Mo.; Traverse City, Mich.; and Waco, Texas.