The first of the Sea Launch vessels has departed from its home port in Long Beach, California, in preparation for the launch of the PanAmSat’s PAS-9 satellite on July 28. The Odyssey launch platform left port on the evening of July 13. The Sea Launch Commander left a few days later.

Both vessels will travel about 3,000 miles to the launch site on the equator at 154 degrees West. The launch is scheduled for 15:42PDT.

The PAS-9 launch will be the fourth for Sea Launch. The first two; a demonstration in March 1999 and the launch of DirecTv 1R last October–were successful. The third mission, last March, failed during the second stage and was followed by a stand-down to investigate the cause.

“All members of the Sea Launch partnership are confident we have made every effort to ensure the success of this mission,” said Will Trafton, president of Sea Launch.

PAS-9 is to replace PAS-5 at 58 degrees West, from which position it will serve the Americas, the Caribbean and Western Europe.