Russia launches US satellite from floating pad

MOSCOW - A Russian Zenit-3SL rocket carrying a US communications satellite was launched Sunday from a seaborne launch platform in the Pacific Ocean, Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos said.

The Intelsat-21 satellite was launched at 10:55 am Moscow time (0655 GMT) from the Odyssey floating platform. The satellite successfully separated from the rocket at 11:25 am Moscow time (0725 GMT).

The 6,000-kg satellite, launched by the Sea Launch corporation, is designed to operate for 15 years. The satellite will replace the Intelsat-9 to provide telecoms services to people in Latin America.

The launch was initially scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed due to technical problems.

It was the second seaborne launch conducted by the Sea Launch corporation in 2012. In June, the corporation successfully orbited a Intelsat-19 satellite.

Founded in 1995, the Sea Launch consortium was made up by four companies from Norway, Russia, Ukraine and the United States, with the Russian company holding 95 percent of the shares.