Sea Launch Moving Closer To Return Flight

In preparation for an October launch of the Thuraya 3 satellite, Sea Launch is awaiting delivery of the replacement for a gas, or flame, deflector for its Odyssey Launch Platform, the company announced July 23.

Built by the Design Bureau for Transport Machinery of Moscow, Sea Launch’s prime contractor for launch system ground support, the 280,000-kilogram steel structure directs engine exhaust away from the platform and controls the acoustic environment. The deflector will replace one destroyed in January during the failure of a Zenit-3SL vehicle carrying the NSS-8 telecommunications satellite. The deflector is expected to arrive to Sea Launch’s home port in mid-August.

A team at the Victoria Shipyard in British Columbia expects to complete the heavy industrial repair work and painting on Odyssey next week. Other completed repair work includes repair and installation of the platform’s hangar doors and communication antennas and replacement of heat-affected wiring and cables, Sea Launch said.

Sea Launch plans to conduct marine tests before returning to Long Beach, Calif., for the installation of the gas deflector.