Sea Launch Company

Since establishing operations in the Port of Long Beach, a multinational venture to launch commercial satellites from the middle of the South Pacific has had a few problems. First, the State Department found that Sea Launch had repeatedly violated the Arms Export Control Act and fined the program $10 million, the largest civil penalty of its kind. Then, the U.S.

In the Port of Long Beach, in the belly of a gleaming 667-foot vessel bristling with radar dishes and transmission towers, American and Russian scientists are building a powerful Ukrainian rocket. Sometime in the next month or so, the rocket and its payload, a communications satellite, will be hoisted onto a massive floating launch platform.

Sea Launch Ltd., the international communications satellite launching company that is 40% owned by Boeing Co., said it will move its headquarters from the Cayman Islands to Long Beach. The company already has its ocean-going launch platforms and technical support in Long Beach, a company spokeswoman said. The partners voted to move the management to Long Beach as well in order to improve efficiency, the company said. Sea Launch expects to be operational in Long Beach by the end of September.

Sea Launch Ltd., the international communications satellite launching company that is 40% owned by Boeing Co., said it will move its headquarters from the Cayman Islands to Long Beach. The company already has its ocean-going launch platforms and technical support in Long Beach, a company spokeswoman said. The partners voted to move the management to Long Beach as well in order to improve efficiency, the company said. Sea Launch expects to be operational in Long Beach by the end of September.

Around the globe, the commercial space race is accelerating like a Saturn V rocket trying to escape the tug of Earth's gravity. Private companies and government partnerships in Japan, Russia, Europe, China and the United States all have their civilian rocket programs, and analysts say that in the next decade alone, more than 1,000 new communications satellites are scheduled to be put into orbit by for-profit ventures. Now comes the latest entry, Sea Launch.

If all goes as planned, a rocket carrying a five-ton dummy satellite will lift off from a floating launch pad in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Saturday as the commercial space race heads to sea. The test from a converted oil-drilling platform represents a critical challenge for an international consortium seeking lucrative contracts to launch the next generation of communications satellites.

In the Port of Long Beach, in the belly of a gleaming 667-foot vessel bristling with radar dishes and transmission towers, American and Russian scientists are building a powerful Ukrainian rocket. Sometime in the next month or so, the rocket and its payload, a communications satellite, will be hoisted onto a massive floating launch platform.

Sea Launch Co., a Long Beach-based rocket launch company, said a Delaware judge on Tuesday approved a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan that would transfer control of the company from Boeing Co. to a Russian rocket engine maker. The company, which uses a converted oil-rig to launch rockets near the equator, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009 after it could not pay a $52-million judgment against it in connection with a terminated launch contract. The judgment came shortly after a platform explosion in early 2007 destroyed a commercial satellite and set the company's operations back about a year.

A Boeing Co.-led consortium today is expected to unveil a unique plan for launching satellite-carrying rockets from a floating platform in the Pacific, with Hughes Electronics Corp. agreeing to be its first customer with a $1-billion order.

Since establishing operations in the Port of Long Beach, a multinational venture to launch commercial satellites from the middle of the South Pacific has had a few problems. First, the State Department found that Sea Launch had repeatedly violated the Arms Export Control Act and fined the program $10 million, the largest civil penalty of its kind. Then, the U.S.

If all goes as planned, a rocket carrying a five-ton dummy satellite will lift off from a floating launch pad in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Saturday as the commercial space race heads to sea. The test from a converted oil-drilling platform represents a critical challenge for an international consortium seeking lucrative contracts to launch the next generation of communications satellites.

Around the globe, the commercial space race is accelerating like a Saturn V rocket trying to escape the tug of Earth's gravity. Private companies and government partnerships in Japan, Russia, Europe, China and the United States all have their civilian rocket programs, and analysts say that in the next decade alone, more than 1,000 new communications satellites are scheduled to be put into orbit by for-profit ventures. Now comes the latest entry, Sea Launch.