Sea Launch to become Russian-owned

Sea Launch's future could just very well have brightened with the announcement that Russian-based rocket engine maker Rocket & Space Corp. Energia has proposed investing $140 million and thus taking an 85% stake in the rocket venture.  This would be part of a bigger plan to help bring Sea Launch out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy possibly as early as August of this year.  Based in Long Beach, CA, Sea Launch is a Boeing rocket launch venture with several European and Russian companies.  It uses a converted oil-rig located in the Pacific Ocean near the equator from which the rockets are launched.  From this location, the rockets take advantage of the Earth's rotation for additional momentum, enabling the rockets to reach orbit faster and hence burn less fuel, which translates to more savings to the customer.  Currently there are no launches scheduled for this year, but it does have 2 scheduled for 2011, with a total backlog of 4 launches.  Interestingly enough, Sea Launch plans on doubling it's employee numbers to 100 in preparation for the 2011 launches, even though the company still has not come out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Even more interesting is whether Long Beach will continue to have a Sea Launch presence; there is a secondary land-based launch platform based in Kazakhstan.  The thinking is that with majority ownership being transferred to a Russian company, and because the rockets themselves are assembled in the Ukraine, Sea Launch could abandon Long Beach and its Pacific Ocean operations and just use the Kazakhstan facility for future launches.

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