In a great build up to the show, Boeing Launch Services conducted two space launches in four hours on 10 June.
First, Boeing-led Sea Launch Zenit 3SL booster flew from the Odyssey launch platform in the equatorial Pacific Ocean carrying the Boeing-built Thuraya 2 communications satellite, while, at Cape Canaveral, a Delta II launched the first 174kg NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER), called Spirit.
At 5,200kg (11,400lb), the Boeing Geostationary Orbit (GEO) Mobile Thuraya 2 was one of the biggest communications satellites launched, on the ninth Sea Launch flight, the maiden flight of which failed. Thuraya will be located at 44°E in GEO.
Spirit will land in Gusev crater on 4 January 2004 after a 500 million km journey, while MER 2, called Opportunity, will be launched by a Delta II heavy, a hybrid vehicle using Delta III strap-on boosters on 25 June, aiming for a 25 January 2004 landing at Meridiani Planum.
Source: Flight Daily News
