Previously the General Designer of Energia Rocket Corporation Yuri Semyonov was reported as saying as early as October, while an Energia press release names November as the nearest date.

However, Paula Korn director of communications at Sea Launch told SpaceDaily that late September is the official manifest, with a final launch for the year in late December for an unnamed customer.

The September launch will follow last week's successful launch of another Hughes bird PAS-9 for PanAmSat. From the equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude, the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off from the Odyssey Launch Platform at exactly 3:42 p.m. PDT and soared into space.

All systems performed nominally during flight. The 8,067-pound PAS-9 satellite was successfully delivered to geostationary transfer orbit about one hour and 45 minutes after liftoff. Hughes Space and Communications built the 601-HP model spacecraft for PanAmSat.

Following liftoff, the Russian and Ukrainian rocket rose from the Odyssey and headed downrange to the east, before disappearing from view on its ascent to geostationary transfer orbit. All systems onboard the three-stage rocket performed nominally.

The Block DM upper stage separated the satellite over the Indian Ocean, one hour and 10 minutes into the flight. As planned, PanAmSat acquired the satellite 25 minutes later from a ground station in Sydney, Australia.

PAS-9 will be located at 58 degrees West Longitude and will replace the PAS-5 satellite. It will provide PanAmSat customers with advanced video distribution, Internet and data services throughout the Americas, the Caribbean and western Europe.

PAS-9 will also serve as the permanent platform for Sky Mexico's DTH service, to digitally deliver television channels in Mexico, Northern Central America and parts of the Caribbean.