A communications satellite called the Thuraya-3 launched yesterday afternoon from Boeing’s Sea Launch, a massive ocean vessel. Various laws of physics dictate that the best place to launch a heavy payload like a satellite is on the equator, and that’s why the United Arab Emirates company Thuraya paid to use the Sea Launch pad you see here. Sea Launch is a popular rocket launch facility because two of its gigantic boat components can quickly zoom out into the middle of the Pacific — it was where Thuraya-1 and Thuraya-2 launched too. We’ve got a giant, beautiful picture of the Thuraya-2 blasting off four years ago below the fold.
Images courtesy of Sea Launch and AFP/Getty Images.
Satellite Launches from Equator [PhysOrg]
