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Sea Launch To Add Land-based Missions To Sea-based Capability

By Staff Writer | October 20, 2003

      Sea Launch’s board of directors has voted to enhance the joint venture’s capabilities by offering launch services from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, in addition to its sea-based launches from the Equator. The new offering, called Land Launch, would involve collaboration between Sea Launch and Russia’s Space International Services (SIS) to carry medium-weight, commercial satellites into orbit. The Land Launch system would use a version of the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket to lift commercial satellites in the 2,000-3,500 kilogram range to geosynchronous transfer orbit, and heavier payloads to inclined or lower orbits, company officials said. A two-stage configuration of the rocket also could launch heavy payloads or multiple payloads to low-Earth orbits. Payloads and vehicles will be processed and launched from existing Zenit facilities at the Baikonur launch site, company officials said. Sea Launch is a joint venture of Boeing [NYSE: BA], Russia’s RSC Energia, Norway’s Kvaerner and Ukraine’s SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash.

      For more about the expanded services of Sea Launch, see the Oct. 27 issue of SATELLITE NEWS. For info on subscribing to PBI Media’s newsletters, check out our Web site at https://www.satellitetoday.com.