The Sea Launch organization is a private satellite launch company. This is arguably the shape of the future of a lot of space activity, so it is interesting to keep an eye on them. They launch, using their Zenit-3SL rocket, from a latitude near the Equator, out in the Pacific ocean, from a platform that looks a lot like an oil platform (it is a converted one, in fact). The whole thing sails out from near here, at Long Beach, and steams along to the launch site, like some super-villians’ outfit. It’s all rather James Bond. More about them here.
It’s strangely fascinating to look at the videos of past launches. (The October 30th 2006 XM-4 launch video, for example. Their archive is here.) They have a sort of old-fashioned feel to them that is riveting, although utterly boring at the same time since there’s not actually a lot going on, and the video quality is not so great. If I’m honest, I think the attraction for me is the slightly mechanical Eastern-European-accented female voices saying things like “we have lift off”… “separation phase complete”… “propulsion system nominal”… “pitch angle nominal”…. “auxiliary control nominal”….. Most of the videos are pretty much these people saying stuff is nominal, with occasional bursts of chatter layered above and below. It was strange entertainment for me last night while cooking. Go and have a look. Their whole site is worth a browse.
They had a bit of a bad day yesterday, though. Definitely not nominal. News story here. Spectacular video on YouTube here:
I would love to know what the woman said at this point (they cut the video feed immediately). In the same level tone: “we don’t have lift off”…”altitude gain below nominal”… The good news is that they’ll be up and running relatively soon, so all is not lost (although the planned improved satellite communications coverage for a number of countries will be delayed by several years).
-cvj
Yes i do understand your point. The material i put up was from Boeing’s own website. A 40% share of a limited partnership is considered to be the substantial majority shareholder, because, unless the other minority partners (25, 20, & 15) all agree to a consensus among themselves, Boeing controls the board votes. If nothing else, having Russia working with Ukraine is beneficial for greater cooperation and peac in Eastern Europe (now if only Russia and Georgia could get along so well).
All true. Nevertheless I believe that 60% is still greater than 40%. To simply say that it is owned by Boeing is to ignore the role of other international companies. Other countries than the USA exist, and play a significant role in shaping the world. It’s always good to remember that. That is why I pointed out that it is not only owned by Boeing.
-cvj
Owning a 40% share is substantially more involved than simply being the organizer of a consortium. Boeing’s commitment, through Chase Manhattan (Rockefeller Group), is as a majority controlling partner.
Sea Launch partners and their operational contributions are:
* Boeing Commercial Space Company, providing the payload fairing, analytical and physical spacecraft integration and mission operations
* RSC Energia, providing the Block DM-SL upper stage, launch vehicle integration and mission operations
* SDO Yuzhnoye / PO Yuzhmash, providing the first two Zenit-3SL stages, launch vehicle integration support and mission operations
* Aker ASA, providing operational services of the launch platform Odyssey and assembly and command ship, Sea Launch Commander.
Sea Launch is a limited liability corporation with Headquarters and Home Port facilities in Long Beach, Calif. The company is owned by Boeing of Seattle, Wash. (40%); RSC-Energia of Moscow, Russia (25%); Aker ASA of Oslo, Norway (20%); and SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine (15%). Financing for the venture is provided by these companies and through debt financing arranged by Chase Manhattan Bank in New York.
Oh, yes, they are certainly insured.
-cvj
I wonder if you can insure satalite launches…I mean those things are millions of dollars a pop so someone is going to have to eat a huge bill for no benifit.
Hi,
Uh, no I don’t think so. As far as I understand it, Boeing helps glue the various companies of the consortium together, but it is not the same as owning it.
Whatever the case, it is still all rather James Bond.
Cheers,
-cvj
> It’s all rather James Bond.
Sea Launch is a subdivision of Boeing.