Ownership and Business
Four companies from four countries shared the original ownership of Cayman Islands-registered Sea Launch. It has been sold to Russian interests in October 2010 after going through Chapter 11 regulations.
| Company | Country of origin | Ownership share | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing Commercial Space | United States | 40% | System integration, payload enclosures (nose-cone that protects the satellite during launch) |
| Energia | Russia | 25% | Block DM-SL rocket stage (it is used in the Zenit 3SL rocket as its 3rd stage) |
| Aker Solutions | Norway | 20% | Launch platform (Ocean Odyssey) and command ship (Sea Launch Commander) |
| SDO Yuzhnoye / PO Yuzhmash | Ukraine | 15% | Two-stage Zenit rocket (used as Zenit 3SL's stages 1 and 2) |
The project was helped by Hughes Space and Communications, which in 1995 signed the first contract for 10 launches and 10 options, valued at $1bn, and Space Systems/Loral, which then signed a five-launch contract.
Total cost of the project has been reported at $583m in 1996. Chase Manhattan arranged about $400m in loans in 1996. Loans were later guaranteed against political instability in Russia and Ukraine through 2012 by the World Bank (up to $175m, of these up to $100m in Russia and up to $75m in Ukraine) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (up to $65m).
Sea Launch has a reciprocal agreement with Arianespace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries through the Launch Services Alliance, providing assurance in case either company's system is not able to launch a payload for reasons of reliability, capacity, backlog, or otherwise. This was used for the first time in 2004 when Arianespace’s Ariane 5 had to reschedule a group of launches for reliability reasons.
The Sea Launch consortium claims that their launch-related operating costs are lower than a land-based equivalent due in part to reduced staff requirements. The platform and command ship have 310 crew members.
On March 17, 2006 it was announced that Jim Maser, the President and General Manager of Sea Launch, would leave the company to join SpaceX as President and Chief Operating Officer.
On June 22, 2009, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection. Sea Launch asserts it will "continue to maintain all normal business operations after the filing for reorganization."
On August 6, 2010, Energia, which already owned 25% of Sea Launch, announced it planned to acquire a controlling interest of 85% in the company. As a result, the company plans to begin land-based launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in early 2011, while sea-based launches resumed in September 2011.
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