The XM Radio satellites (using Boeing 702 buses) provided digital radio entertainment broadcast to the US. The XM-2 Rock satellite was accompanied by the XM-1 Roll spacecraft launched later in 2001. A Boeing Sea Launch Zenit-3SL took off from the Odyssey floating launch platform at 154W 0 N in the Pacific. The two-stage Zenit put the Blok DM in a suborbital trajectory with a 190 km apogee; the DM first burn went to a 180 x 990 km x 1.3 deg orbit, with the second burn delivering Rock to geostationary transfer orbit. The 4.7 tonne (with fuel), 18 kW satellite carried two transmitters (3 kW each) in the S-band to relay 100 channels of digital quality music uplinked in the X-band from one or more ground stations. It was parked over 114.9 deg-W longitude. The investors include several auto manufacturers who were to be equipping the special receivers in their models. As of 4 September 2001 located at 114.98 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 115.14W drifting at 0.003W degrees per day.

Direct Radio Broadcasting satellite. Second launch attempt following pad abort on January 8. Launch delayed from May 7. XM-1 "Roll" was launched from Sea Launch's Odyssey Launch Platform in the Pacific, on the equator at 154.0 W. Roll joined Rock, launched on March 18, to complete the XM Satellite Radio space segment. The XM-1 satellite was a Boeing Satellite Systems (El Segundo) BSS 702 with a launch mass of 4667 kg and a dry mass of about 2500 kg. It carried an R-4D liquid apogee engine and a XIPS ion station-keeping engine. The satellite's Alcatel communications payload featured an X-band receive antenna which passed digital radio broadcasts on to the two 5-meter S-band transmit antennas. It was to provide one hundred channels of digital music and entertainment to motorists in North America after parking over 85 deg-W. The XM satellites, like the three rival Sirius Radio satellites in inclined elliptical synchronous orbits, were to provide radio broadcasting to North America. The first two stages of the Zenit launch vehicle placed the Block DM-SL upper stage and payload in a 191 km apogee suborbital trajectory at 2219 GMT; the Block-DM-SL then ignited for its first burn, entering a 180 x 990 km x 1.3 deg parking orbit at 2223 GMT. The second burn at 2258 GMT accelerated the stack to a 935 x 35797 km x 1.3 deg geostationary transfer orbit. The XM-1 Roll satellite separated at 2315 GMT. As of 5 September 2001 located at 85.12 deg W drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 115.09W drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.