Zenit 3SL ocean-based launch system. Photo: Sea Launch

[Via Satellite 03-31-2014] On March 27, Sea Launch celebrated the 15 year anniversary of the maiden launch of the Zenit 3ST ocean-based launch system with the DemoSat spacecraft. This inaugural launch validated the program concept and also demonstrated system capability.

The payload for the first mission mimicked the mass properties of a 4,500 kilogram spacecraft, with the optimized mission injection profile actually providing 4,900 kilograms of equivalent performance. Development of DemoSat took four years, beginning in 1995. Since then, Sea Launch has completed 35 launches, with its 26th mission scheduled for mid-April.

“Fifteen years ago the entire world witnessed a remarkable event in 20th century global space launch technology — the inaugural launch of the Sea Launch rocket,” said Valery Aliev, executive vice president of launch operations for Energia Logistics U.S. (ELUS). “The media groups at that time included Sea Launch in the list of the top 100 most significant technological achievements in the world.”