Long Beach, Calif., January 15 2008 – The third Geo-mobile satellite of Abu Dhabi-based Thuraya Satellite Telecom Co. has been successfully launched by Sea Launch, January 15. Lifting off at 11:49 GMT from the Odyssey Launch Platform at 154 degrees West Longitude, the Zenit-3SL rocket placed the 5,173 kg (11,381 lb) Thuraya-3 satellite manufactured by Boeing into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Spacecraft separation occurred 99 minutes after liftoff, at 1,388 miles above the Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand. All systems performed nominally throughout the flight, according to Sea Launch.