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Purpose

 

Sea Launch Company, LLC, is an international partnership of American, Russian, Ukrainian and Norwegian businesses providing reliable, cost effective, heavy lift launch services for commercial customers. The Sea Launch equatorial launch site provides the most direct route to geostationary orbit, yielding maximum lift capacity for increased payload mass or extended spacecraft life. In its 9th year of launch operations, Sea Launch continues to build a legacy.


Timeline

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Summer 1993 Exploratory discussions occur.
Spring 1994 Initial Sea Launch studies begin.
April 1995 Sea Launch is formed.
December 1995 Hughes signs first order. Ship construction commences.
July 1996 Hughes commits to three more launches. Space Systems/Loral orders five satellite launches.
August 8, 1996 Groundbreaking held for Home Port in Long Beach, California.
December 1996 Command ship completed and launched from Kvaerner shipyard in Scotland.
May 1997 Launch platform sails from Norway to Russia.
September 1997 Sea Launch Commander christened.
May 1998 Modifications to Sea Launch Commander and the Odyssey completed in Russia.
June 12, 1998 Sea Launch Commander leaves St. Petersburg, Russia for Long Beach, carrying the first two Sea Launch vehicles.
June 20, 1998 The Odyssey leaves Russian shipyard for Long Beach.
Summer/Fall 1998 Vessels arrive at Home Port; final preparations begin.
March 1999 First launch - Demonstration Payload.

Mission History

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Image of inagural launch, March 27, 1999

Inaugural Launch – March 27, 1999
The payload for the demonstration launch was designed to simulate the mass properties of a 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) commercial spacecraft. DemoSat executed a precisely controlled flight profile and was one of the most highly instrumented test missions ever flown.

DirecTV – October 9, 1999
The 3,450 kg (7,600 lb) Boeing 601 spacecraft for the first commercial mission was the DirecTV 1-R broadcast satellite, launched successfully to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) – on time and on target.

ICO – March 12, 2000
During the mission of the 2,750 kg (6,050 lb) ICO F-1 communications satellite (Boeing 601 spacecraft), an anomaly developed during the operation of the second stage. The rocket failed to reach orbital velocity - the flight was terminated.

PAS-9 – July 28, 2000
The 3,659 kg (8,067-lb) PAS-9 communications satellite (Boeing 601 HP) was launched successfully to GTO for PanAmSat and, less than two months later, supported the broadcast of the Summer 2000 Olympics from Australia.

Thuraya-1 – October 20, 2000
The 5,108 kg (11,260 lb) Thuraya-1 communications satellite (Boeing 702 GEM spacecraft) was the heaviest commercial payload launched at this time. Now positioned in geosynchronous orbit, this satellite provides regional mobile telecommunications services to 100 countries in the Middle East, Europe, India, Africa and central Asia.

XM-2 – March 18, 2001
The 4,666 kg (10,287 lb) XM-Rock satellite and its sister spacecraft, XM-Roll, are the most powerful commercial communications satellites in orbit. The two spacecraft transmit state-of-the-art digital audio radio programming directly to cars, homes and portable radios throughout the continental United States. (Boeing 702 spacecraft)

XM-1 – May 8, 2001
Like XM-2, the 4,672 kg (10,297 lb) twin spacecraft, XM-Roll was launched with outstanding accuracy, completing the "Rock" and "Roll" constellation for XM Satellite Radio, now in commercial operation. (Boeing 702 spacecraft)

Galaxy IIIC – June 15, 2002
The launch of the 4,850 kg (10,692 lb) Galaxy IIIC spacecraft met all launch, flight and GTO insertion objectives precisely on time and on target. This powerful PanAmSat satellite now provides Internet, video audio and data services to people in the United States and Latin America. (Boeing 601 HP spacecraft)

Thuraya-2 – June 10, 2003
The 5,177 kg (11,413 lb), Thuraya-2 communications satellite (Boeing 702 GEM spacecraft), again the heaviest commercial payload orbited to date, is designed to support Thuraya's regional mobile communications services to the populations of more than 100 countries in the Middle East, Europe, India, Africa and central Asia.

EchoStar IX/Telstar 13 – August 7, 2003
Sea Launch lifted the 4,737 kg (10,443 lb) EchoStar IX/Telstar 13 satellite (Loral 1300-series spacecraft) to a high perigee geosynchronous transfer orbit. EchoStar Communications Corporation, uses the Ku-band for its DISH network and the Ka-band for broadband applications. Loral Skynet, uses the Telstar 13 C-band capacity to support television programmers.

Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 – September 30, 2003
Sea Launch lifted the 4090 kg (9081 lb) Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 satellite (Boeing 601 HP spacecraft) to GTO on the way to its final orbital position at 127 degrees West Longitude. Jointly owned by PanAmSat and JSAT Corporation, Horizons-1 provides expanded Ku-band services in North America and extended services to Japan and Asia via a Hawaii-based relay station. PanAmSat operates the C-band payload, Galaxy XIII, the first high-definition neighborhood in the U.S. cable arc.

Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 – January 10, 2004
Sea Launch lifted the 4694 kg (10,350 lb) Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit for a final orbital position at 63 degrees West Longitude. The Loral 1300-series spacecraft is operated by Loral Skynet do Brasil. It carries 41 high-powered Ku-band transponders with five unique and interconnecting coverage beams to provide dedicated Ku-band solutions for the Brazilian marketplace, the Americas and the North Atlantic Ocean.

DIRECTV 7S – May 4, 2004
Sea Launch delivered the 5,483 kg (12,063 lb.) DIRECTV 7S satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to 119 degrees West Longitude. The Loral 1300-series spacecraft provides U.S. television customers with local channel service to additional markets and new services. Heaviest commercial payload successfully launched as of launch date.

Telstar 18 – June 28, 2004
Sea Launch delivered the 4,640 kg (10,229 lb.) Telstar 18 communications satellite to a lower apogee than planned due to an early shutdown of the Zenit-3SL upper stage engine. Space Systems/Loral successfully raised the spacecraft to its final orbital position at 138 degrees East Longitude, where it is expected to meet or exceed its 13-year specified life. The Loral 1300-series spacecraft uses its C-band and Ku-band transponders to host cable programming, direct-to-home broadcasting, Internet, VSAT and IP-based two-way services within Asia while providing an inter-connect to the United States.

XM-3 - February 28, 2005
Sea Launch successfully delivered XM Satellite Radio’s 4,703 kg (10,346 lb) XM-3 satellite (“Rhythm”) into an optimized geosynchronous transfer orbit of 2468 km x 35786 km, on its way its final orbital position at 85 degrees West Longitude. The Boeing-702 spacecraft transmits more than 150 channels of digital-quality music, news, sports, talk, comedy and children's programming to subscribers across the continental United States.

Spaceway 1 – April 26, 2005
Sea Launch delivered DIRECTV’s 6,080 kg (13,376 lb) Spaceway 1 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position of 102.8 degrees West Longitude, completing the successful launch of the heaviest commercial satellite to date. The Boeing 702 spacecraft, with a design life of 12 years, is part of an historic expansion of programming capacity for more than 1,500 local and national High Definition channels and other advanced programming services.

Intelsat Americastm-8 – June 23, 2005
Sea Launch delivered the 5,500 kg (12,125 lb) IA-8 satellite to GTO, on its way to a final orbital position of 89 degrees West Longitude. The Loral 1300-series spacecraft is designed to provide expanded coverage over the Americas, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Alaska during its 15-year service life, hosting voice, video and data transmission and distribution services. It carries 28 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders, as well as 24 Ka-band spot beams.

Inmarsat-4 – November 8, 2005
Sea Launch delivered the 5,958 kg (13,108 lb) Inmarsat-4 communications satellite to GTO, on its way to a final orbital position of 53 degrees West Longitude. Inmarsat-4 is an Astrium ES-3000 spacecraft, designed to provide high-speed mobile service to people throughout the Americas during its 13-year service life. It is one in a series of satellites designed to support the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) for high-speed delivery of Internet and intranet content and solutions, video-on-demand, videoconferencing, fax, e-mail, phone and LAN access.

EchoStar X – February 15, 2006
Sea Launch delivered the 4,333 kg (9,553 lb) EchoStar X broadcast satellite to GTO, on its way to a final orbital position of 110 degrees West Longitude. Built by Lockheed Martin, the Ku band A2100AX satellite is optimized to provide additional bandwidth for direct-to-home broadcast applications across the United States.

JCSAT-9 – April 12, 2006
Sea Launch successfully delivered the 4401 kg (9,703 lb) JCSAT-9 spacecraft to GTO, on its way to a final orbital position of 132 degrees East Longitude. Built by Lockheed Martin, the A2100AX satellite joins JSAT’s nine orbiting satellites, providing communications and broadcasting services to businesses throughout Asia.

Galaxy 16 – June 18, 2006
Sea Launch successfully delivered PanAmSat's 4,640 kg (10,229 lb) Loral 1300-series spacecraft, Galaxy 16, to GTO, on its way to a final orbital position of 99 degrees West Longitude. The satellite's 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders are designed to support a variety of broadcast customers in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada.

Koreasat 5 - August 21, 2006
Sea Launch successfully delivered the Koreasat 5 hybrid communications satellite to GTO on its way to a final orbital location of 113 degrees East Longitude. Built by Alcatel Alenia Space, the Spacebus 4000 C1 platform carries 36 transponders in multi-band frequencies to meet its multi-mission objectives. Koreasat 5 is owned jointly by the Agency for Defense Development of Korea and KT Corporation as part of South Korea’s new high-capacity Spacecom System.

XM-4 – October 30, 2006
Sea Launch inserted the 5,193 kg (11,448 lb) XM-4 spacecraft to GTO, on its way to final orbital position of 115 degrees West Longitude. The Boeing 702 spacecraft carries a high-power S-band Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS) payload provided by Alcatel Alenia Space to support XM Radio’s direct broadcast of digital radio programming to cars, homes and portable radios throughout the continental United States and Canada.

NSS-8 – January 30, 2007
Sea Launch experienced an unsuccessful launch of the 5,920 kg (13,051 lb.) Boeing 702 spacecraft. The NSS-8 satellite carried 56 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders.

Thuraya-3 – January 15, 2008
Sea Launch successfully delivered the 5,173 kg (11,381 lb) Thuraya-3 satellite to GTO, on its way to a final orbital position of 98.5 degrees East Longitude. This Boeing-built GEO-mobile (GEM) satellite is designed to expand Thuraya's network coverage to include all key markets of the Asia-Pacific region, providing a broad range of mobile voice and data services.

DIRECTV 11 – March 19, 2008
Sea Launch inserted the 5,923 kg (13,058 lb) DIRECTV 11 broadcast satellite (Boeing 702 spacecraft) to GTO, on its way to a final orbital position of 92.2 degrees West Longitude, with accuracy likely to provide extended service life on orbit. DIRECTV 11 will further strengthen DIRECTV's position as the leading provider of HD programming in the United States.


MISSION Recovery

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Sea Launch experienced an unsuccessful launch on its 24th mission, on January 30, 2007. The incident occurred seconds after ignition, resulting in the loss of both the rocket and its payload. While the Odyssey Launch Platform remained intact and suffered no structural damage, some of the launch support equipment was damaged. Both the Odyssey and its sister vessel, the Sea Launch Commander, departed the launch site and returned to Sea Launch Home Port under their own power.

The recovery mission comprised two distinct and essential tracks, operating in a parallel timeframe toward returning to flight - Investigation and Repair/Recertification. The national space agencies of Russia and Ukraine formed an interagency commission to investigate the cause of the Zenit-3SL's unsuccessful launch. Mr. S. N. Konyukhov, general designer and general director of SDO Yuzhnoye, served as chair. The commission concluded its investigation on March 7 and issued a summary statement to Sea Launch, indicating an anomaly within the first stage engine caused an early termination of thrust, resulting in the loss of the mission. Also in March, the team completed its damage assessment phase of the Launch Platform, including a full inventory of repair and recertification requirements and scheduling of these activities. The team smoothly transitioned to a fully integrated recovery process that restored all damaged systems back to their original operating capability.

To see how the Sea Launch Team successfully completed the Mission Recovery efforts, please click here for a link to the Mission Recovery page.

Quoting Dan Dubbs, deputy vice president of operations, "Extraordinary people arise from extraordinary circumstances."

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