Sea Launch Wraps Investigation, Plans Return To Flight

Sea Launch has concluded its failure investigation and expects its return to flight in October with delivery of Thuraya-3 aboard a Zenit 3SL booster, company spokeswoman Paula Korn said June 8.

While she said a formal statement would be forthcoming, “we’re definitely making huge progress and now finished with the investigation” of the Jan. 30 launch failure of the booster carrying the NSS-8 satellite. An engine problem was cited as the cause.

Korn said Sea Launch has made the “necessary corrective action, and that’s what we’re working on. [The pace of work] is remarkable now. It’s very exciting for all of us; now we have such tangible evidence of progress, it’s very optimistic.”

She said repairs to the Odyssey platform were expected to be finished by the end of summer.