A technician at Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) is dwarfed by a 12.25-meter (40-foot) reflector designed for geostatioary satellites BSS is building for regional mobile communications, known as the Boeing GEM spacecraft. The reflector transmits and receives signals from an L-band feed array, forming a large number of small spot beams that can be adjusted as phone traffic warrants. The reflector is made of composite materials and weighs 78 kilograms (170 pounds), and compresses into a compact package 1.3 meters (50 inches) diameter by 3.8 meters (150 inches) long for launch. The first Boeing GEM spacecraft will be the Thuraya-1 satellite, scheduled for launch on October 18, 2000 from a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket on the equator.