Long Beach, Calif.-Based Sea Launch Teams Up with Russian Firm

Oct. 21–Anticipating a growth in the market for smaller commercial communications satellites, Long Beach-based Sea Launch Co. announced Monday it is entering into a partnership with a Russian firm for land-based operations in Kazakhstan.

The new venture, called Land Launch, anticipates its first launch sometime in late 2005 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Sea Launch officials said.

The partnership, with Space International Services of Russia, was approved earlier this month by the Sea Launch board of directors and will be in addition to the company’s sea-based launches at the equator.

Sea Launch president and general manager Jim Maser said the venture will use two-stage Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rockets designed to put medium-weight commercial satellites — which have a smaller mass and fewer transponders — into low-Earth orbit.

“That market has only emerged in the past 12 months and we’re projecting there could be a commercial demand in 2005 and 2006 for two launches a year,” Maser said.

“These satellites are cheaper to build and cheaper to launch,” Maser said.

Maser also said the partnership is a way for Sea Launch to ride out what’s been a flat market for its targeted communications satellites.

Sea Launch’s business plan was for about 10 to 15 launches a year. Currently, the company is making about four launches a year, with about six planned for next year. “By maybe 2006 or 2007, hopefully we’ll be seeing that growing again to 15 to 20 a year,” he said.

“Just a pickup of one or two land-based launches a year is good for the partnership,” Maser said. “We view it as a way to help us create a growth plan.”

The land launches will be primarily of telecommunications satellites, including for some of the biggest operators in the world who are looking at getting into the market for using smaller satellites, Maser said.

Igor Alekseev, director of Space International Services, said the program is supported by the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

Sea Launch, established in 1995, provides heavy-lift launch services off a reconfigured oil rig platform that sends its payloads into orbit from the equator. International partners include the Boeing Co., Kvaerner Group of Norway, RSC Energia in Russia and SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash in Ukraine.

So far, Sea Launch has completed 10 successful missions.

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