Author Topic: Sea Launch - All Topics (Read 2944 times)

shuttle_buff · « **on:** 04/13/2006 01:48 am »

Sea Launch is an interesting company!

Basically it's Russia rockets and Russian launch engineers working for an American company.

Great concept! Who would of though!

I Love It! Just love it!

Everybody wins!

edkyle99 · « **Reply #1 on:** 04/13/2006 01:13 pm »

Quote

shuttle_buff - 12/4/2006 8:48 PM

Sea Launch is an interesting company!

Basically it's Russia rockets and Russian launch engineers working for an American company.

It is a Ukrainian-Russian rocket (Ukrainian first and second stages powered
by Russian engines, topped by an all-Russian third stage). Both Ukrainians
and Russians are involved in processing and launch. Workers from the
U.S. are involved in processing the payload.

Sea Launch itself is *not* an American company. It is an international
consortium owned in part by Ukrainian, Russian, Norwegian, and U.S.
based companies. None of them own a majority share. The Sea Launch
"fleet" is currently based in Southern California, near a number of major
satellite manufacturers. A "Land Launch" variation of Sea Launch is set
to begin operations at Baikonur in Kazakhstan (yet another country) in
the not too distant future.

- Ed Kyle

braddock · « **Reply #2 on:** 04/13/2006 02:47 pm »

What particular hoops does Sea Launch need to jump through to comply with export control in their unholy international alliance?

Any special payload handling procedures or internal firewalls?

edkyle99 · « **Reply #3 on:** 04/14/2006 05:52 am »

Quote

braddock - 13/4/2006 9:47 AM

What particular hoops does Sea Launch need to jump through to comply with export control in their unholy international alliance?

Any special payload handling procedures or internal firewalls?

The following site has some details on this.

http://psychcentral.com/psypsych/Sea_Launch

As a U.S. company, Boeing's work for Sea Launch is subject to provisions
and requirements of the Arms Export Control Act. Boeing had to pay a
$10 million fine in 1998 for a violation. The U.S. Customs Service also
gets involved with regulating the import of the actual launch vehicles, and
there are international shipping requirements on the ships and their
crews.

Payloads, which have included both U.S. and European-built satellites,
are encapsulated in the payload fairing off-ship near the Long Beach
port. They are then transported to the command ship where they
are integrated with the Zenit. The process is actually more "controlled"
than Lockheed's payload integration efforts for International Launch
Services Proton missions. Boeing's Sea Launch payload work happens
in a U.S.-owned facility with a Boeing-built payload fairing. Lockheed's
work occurs in a building at Baikonur and includes integration, using
local workers, with a Russian upper stage and payload fairing. (Or,
for that matter, integration of U.S. satellites on European rockets at
Kourou).

Sea Launch is registered as a Cayman Islands-based company. Its
ships are registered Liberian. The recent spat between Russia and
post-Orange revolution Ukraine has no doubt made things a bit more
"interesting" aboard ship this year.

- Ed Kyle

sammie · « **Reply #4 on:** 04/14/2006 10:19 am »

Since we got a Sea Launch employee on this board now I'd like to ask a number of questions as well.

This year, and probably next year all sold out years for Sea Lauch. I presume that the biggest constraint of launching more often is the fact that the rockets and fuel have to be picked up by the Commander from the Ukraine where they are assembled. Has it ever been considered to airlift these parts? This would increase the possible flight rate quite a bit, instead of steaming across the atlantic after each mission both vessels could then just ferry between California and the Equator.

Jim · « **Reply #5 on:** 04/14/2006 11:36 am »

Quote

sammie - 14/4/2006 6:19 AMSince we got a Sea Launch employee on this board now I'd like to ask a number of questions as well.This year, and probably next year all sold out years for Sea Lauch. I presume that the biggest constraint of launching more often is the fact that the rockets and fuel have to be picked up by the Commander from the Ukraine where they are assembled. Has it ever been considered to airlift these parts? This would increase the possible flight rate quite a bit, instead of steaming across the atlantic after each mission both vessels could then just ferry between California and the Equator.

Other ships deliver the components to the US. The Commander does not go back to the Ukraine.

One of the proposed methods of increasing the flight rate is to carry more than one mission per trip. Currently the spacecraft and Zenit are loaded into the Commander and mated and then transferred to the launch platform while docked in Long Beach. The Commander is sized to carry more missions (I think 2 or 3) and the transfer could be done at sea. So 3 or 4 launches could be taken out to the equator but it would mean that 3 or 4 spacecraft support teams would have to be onboard.