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Liftoff was at 6:31 a.m. Baikonur time (5:31 p.m. Aug. 29 PDT, 00:31 Aug. 30 GMT) After a nearly seven-hour ride, the satellite separated safely from its launch vehicle and headed toward its final orbit above the equator. A little less than three hours after launch satellite controllers in Sydney, Australia, received signals from Astra 2A, indicating systems are operating normally.

Astra 2A is the sixth Hughes-built satellite to be launched this year, and the second satellite to be launched in less than a week. However, the Galaxy X launch on Wednesday (Aug. 26) in the United States was unsuccessful due to a failure of the Delta III rocket.

Astra 2A is an HS 601HP model built by Hughes Space and Communications Company of Los Angeles for Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) of Luxembourg. It will undergo about a week of maneuvering to circularize the orbit at the geostationary altitude of 36,000 km (22,300 miles). About a month of in-orbit testing follows before it is turned over to SES for service.

SES is the operator of Astra, Europe's leading DTH satellite system, which has six of its seven operational spacecraft at 19.2 degrees East longitude. Astra 2A will be operated at SES' second orbital position of 28.2 degrees East, which will be developed into the prime orbital position for the distribution of digital television, radio and multimedia services to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Astra 2A will operate with 32 active Ku-band transponders for the first five years, and 28 thereafter, powered by 98-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers. As with the other Astra satellites, SES will be able to change the transponders' transmission frequencies in orbit to accommodate new programming or to back up the other satellites.

Astra 2A uses single-junction gallium arsenide solar panels to generate 7 kilowatts of payload power. To ensure 15 years of service, the spacecraft carries both a traditional chemical propulsion system and Hughes' new xenon ion propulsion system, called XIPS.

This is the sixth Hughes-built satellite in the SES fleet. It also is the 42nd HS 601 model to be delivered, and the sixth of the HP, or high-power, version. Hughes Space and Communications, a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation, is the world's leading manufacturer of geosynchronous commercial communications satellites. It also is a major supplier of spacecraft and scientific instruments to the U.S. government, and builder of weather satellites for the United States and Japan.

Hughes-built satellites have provided a cumulative 9 million hours of service to customers worldwide. The earnings of Hughes Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to GMH (NYSE symbol) common stock.