Sea/Land Launch schedule

[anik]

Sea Launch Signs Agreement with EchoStar
http://www.sea-launch.com/news_releases/2010/nr_100722.html

LONG BEACH, Calif., July 22, 2010 – Sea Launch Company, a leading provider of launch services to the commercial satellite industry, has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of EchoStar Satellite Services L.C.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS), providing EchoStar with the ability to launch up to three satellites on the Sea Launch system.

Sea Launch expects to launch the satellites using the reliable Zenit-3SL launch vehicle from its equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude, in international waters of the Pacific Ocean. Sea Launch has successfully launched previous EchoStar satellites, including EchoStar IX in 2003.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to launch new spacecraft for EchoStar," said Kjell Karlsen, president and general manager of Sea Launch. "This new agreement reinforces our long-term relationship with EchoStar."

"EchoStar is pleased to have completed successful launches with Sea Launch in the past, which give us confidence in Sea Launch’s ability to execute on future launches," said Dean Olmstead, president of EchoStar Satellite Services. "The Sea Launch Zenit-3SL vehicle has been a reliable, flight-proven launch system and we look forward to continued success."

This is one of several new launch agreements that Sea Launch has signed recently, building a healthy manifest as the company moves forward toward successfully exiting Chapter 11 in the third quarter of 2010. On May 10, 2010, Sea Launch filed its Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement. Sea Launch anticipates court confirmation of its Plan of Reorganization at a hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, scheduled for July 27, 2010.

[McDew]

Sea Launch Signs Agreement with EchoStar
http://www.sea-launch.com/news_releases/2010/nr_100722.html

Announcement is primarily a PR stunt.  Two weeks ago SL filed with the bankruptcy court to reject the Echostar contract with 4 options remaining.  A few days later the rejection was pulled by SL.  Last week, SL submitted filings to the court which listed the cure value of the Echo contract as only $1!  Obviously contract was modified for three of the options at not cost and at pricing unlikely to be used. 

The old saying of "The contract isn't worth the paper its printed on." is very accurate in this case.  But, the PR value is priceless....

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/27sealaunch/

Sea Launch's backlog now includes four firm contracts, including the AsiaSat deal, an Intelsat satellite launch, and agreements for two flights with Eutelsat payloads. The manifest doesn't include unannounced contracts or the conditional EchoStar agreement.

The next flight of a Land Launch rocket will occur between January and March of 2011 with the Intelsat 18 communications satellite. Sea Launch's next mission from the Pacific Ocean is scheduled for the third quarter of 2011, Karlsen said.

[Salo]

SN: Russia’s Energia To Own 95 Percent of New Sea Launch

Karlsen said Sea Launch, now freed of the substantial debt as a result of the Chapter 11 reorganization, will be profitable with as few as two launches per year, although it expects to ramp up activity to perform four launches in 2012 and five in 2013.

Several commercial satellite operators have voiced support for Sea Launch, and four — Intelsat of Luxembourg and Washington; Eutelsat of Paris; AsiaSat of Hong Kong; and EchoStar of Englewood, Colo. — have signed various commitments to use Sea Launch in the next few years.

[kq6ea]

Article this morning the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_15624672

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/launch/regulators-approve-energia-purchase-sea-launch.html

Karlsen said the interagency U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) on Sept. 9 gave its approval for the purchase of Sea Launch by Energia, a large Russian space hardware manufacturer that has long been a Sea Launch shareholder and contractor.

[kq6ea]

Should be very interesting as they start to reactivate the various systems that have been "Cold Iron" for the last year.....

[Salo]

The consortium Sea Launch intends to resume launches of the Zenit-3SL LV no earlier than summer 2011. Only russian:
http://armstass.su/?page=article&aid=89060&cid=125

[Salo]

http://fdfhome.gsfc.nasa.gov/fdinfo_Launch_2011.html

[Salo]

http://en.rian.ru/science/20101011/160914711.html

International consortium Sea Launch plans to resume Zenit-3SL carrier rocket launches from its floating platform in the Pacific Ocean in 2011, the head of the Russian Rocket and Space Corporation Energia said Monday.

"All political conditions for resuming launches on the Sea Launch program have been met. All commissions in the United States have been passed. A license for 70 launches has been received," Vitaly Lopota said.

"There are enough contracts for satellite launches. The first launch is due at the end of next year," he told journalists.

[Salo]

SFN: Debt-free Sea Launch emerges from bankruptcy

Sea Launch's contract backlog includes deals to launch Intelsat, Eutelsat, AsiaSat and EchoStar communications satellites. Officials have not announced payloads for the two Sea Launch missions in the second half of 2011.

[kq6ea]

I wish them well. It was the best place I've *ever* worked at.

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2010/10/29/03.xml&headline=Sea%20Launch%20Exits%20Chapter%2011

[Karlsen says the company will return to business with a “healthy manifest of future launches,” including some granted fully or partially in lieu of past claims. This includes missions for Intelsat, Echostar, Eutelsat and AsiaSat.

Return to flight of the Land Launch booster, carrying Intelsat 18, is planned in the first quarter of 2011. Sea Launch marine platform launches will resume in the third quarter.

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/launch/101028-sealaunch-exits-bankruptcy.html

Karlsen said a Zenit vehicle to be used to launch the Intelsat 18 satellite for Washington- and Luxembourg-based Intelsat in early 2011 is almost completed, and that the production line is sufficiently robust to produce two more Zenit vehicles in time for launches in September and November 2011.

[Salo]

http://www.intelsat.com/_files/investors/financial/2010/2010-36.pdf

Intelsat 18, for which the launch has been rescheduled to late second quarter 2011, due to manufacturing delays

[Salo]

Predicted launches

2011
Date – Satellite(s) – Zenit type/Upper Stage – Organization – Time (UTC)
End of Second Quarter - Intelsat 18 - 3SLB/DM-SLB – LL
July - TBD - 3SLB/DM-SLB – LL
end of year - TBD - 3SL/DM-SL - SL
end of year - TBD Eutelsat AB7 - 3SL/DM-SL - SL

2012
Date – Satellite(s) – Zenit type/Upper Stage – Organization – Time (UTC)
September - Lybid - 3SLB/DM-SLB - LL
TBD - Eutelsat comsat - 3SL/DM-SL - SL

2012-2014
TBD - Asiasat comsat - 3SL/DM-SL - SL
TBD - Echostar comsat - 3SL/DM-SL - SL
TBD - Echostar comsat - 3SL/DM-SL - SL
TBD - Echostar comsat - 3SL/DM-SL - SL

2015-2017
TBD - Hughes comsat - 3SL/DM-SL - SL
TBD - Hughes comsat - 3SL/DM-SL - SL

Changes on December 30
Changes on January 13

[Salo]

http://www.energia.ru/en/news/news-2010/news_12-30_2.html

There are plans to resume the launches under the Sea Launch program by the of 2011.

[McDew]

http://www.energia.ru/en/news/news-2010/news_12-30_2.html

There are plans to resume the launches under the Sea Launch program by the of 2011.

Eutelsat, the planned return to flight customer on Sea Launch conducted a launch vehicle hardware audit and determined that this was not likely.  Energia was still playing smoke and mirrors on production hardware. 

The Glonass failure investigation identified Energia for the Block DM overloading due to Energia having systemic management, quality and oversight errors (red flags for whatever the heck that all covers) as the cause of the Glonass launch failure.  This also does not provide any confidence or credibility of Energia's plans on Sea Launch.

The Eutelsat AB7 mission in 2011 planned for Sea Launch has been moved to Ariane.

[Salo]

http://www.yuzhmash.com/en/news.php?news=19

Press release
21th January 2011
THE PROJECT "SEA LAUNCH" RESUMES FLIGHTS

The first international project of development and operation of space-rocket complex “Sea Launch” resumed its work.

In November 2010, managers of YUZHMASM signed an agreement on production of ten launch vehicles “Zenit-3SL”, three of which are going to be manufactured in 2011.

Since 1999, the company “Sea Launch” has carried out 28 successful launches of commercial satellites according to the orders of companies from many countries.

The program “Sea Launch” is a bright example of the usage of military space technologies for peaceful purposes, and for the Ukrainian manufacturer this program is the real prospect of new vacancies creation.

[Downix]

http://www.yuzhmash.com/en/news.php?news=19

Press release
21th January 2011
THE PROJECT "SEA LAUNCH" RESUMES FLIGHTS

The first international project of development and operation of space-rocket complex “Sea Launch” resumed its work.

In November 2010, managers of YUZHMASM signed an agreement on production of ten launch vehicles “Zenit-3SL”, three of which are going to be manufactured in 2011.

Since 1999, the company “Sea Launch” has carried out 28 successful launches of commercial satellites according to the orders of companies from many countries.

The program “Sea Launch” is a bright example of the usage of military space technologies for peaceful purposes, and for the Ukrainian manufacturer this program is the real prospect of new vacancies creation.

Anyone else notice that their website no longer references the engine model for the Zenit?