Boeing expected to end stake in rocket firm Sea Launch Los Angeles Times
After struggling for nearly 15 years to prop up an unusual way to launch satellites into space, Boeing Co. is expected to throw in the towel and walk away from its stake in Long Beach-based Sea Launch Co.
Kjell Karlsen, Sea Launch president, said Wednesday that Boeing was likely to have little or no ownership position in the rocket launch company after it emerges from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Court reorganization early next year.
Sea Launch Company, LLC, a leading provider of launch services to the commercial satellite industry, has received interim approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on its motion to secure up to $12.5 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from Space Launch Services, LLC.
This credit facility will provide working capital to continue Sea Launch operations as the company moves through its Chapter 11 reorganization process. In the next few months, Sea Launch will be preparing a Plan of Reorganization as well as securing exit financing and finalizing a revitalized supply chain management structure.
Space News reports a sudden departure from SpaceX:
Rob Peckham is returning to Boeing Satellite Systems International as vice president of business development after only six months at Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), the commercial space venture led by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, according to industry sources.
The industry publication notes that Peckham was formerly of Boeing’s Sea Launch. His predecessor, Jim Maser, joined SpaceX as president and COO in March 2006 but left 9 months later.
Sea Launch consortium to draft reorganization plan by fall Interfax
The Sea Launch international consortium, which announced its bankruptcy last week, will draft a corporate reorganization program within two months, consortium press secretary Paula Korn told Interfax. She said reorganization options would be presented to the Delaware bankruptcy court.
Sea Launch Bankruptcy Stokes Fears of Rising Launch Prices Space News
Major commercial satellite fleet operators said the June 22 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Sea Launch Co. LLC is bad news for the health of the industry despite repeated claims by some launch service providers that the global market is oversupplied with rockets.
Sea Launch bankruptcy could cost Boeing $478 million Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Boeing subsidiary Sea Launch Co. LLC, which provides ocean-based launch services to the commercial satellite industry, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — and that could end up costing Boeing $478 million.
In the second quarter of 2009, Boeing expects a pre-tax charge of about $35 million, the Chicago-based aerospace firm said Thursday in a regulatory filing. The company said that if it is unable to get reimbursement from Sea Launch or its partners, its total charges could be $478 million.
Sea Launch Company L.L.C. and Sea Launch Limited Partnership and subsidiaries (“Sea Launch†or “Companyâ€), a leading provider of launch services to the commercial satellite industry, has filed voluntary petitions to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington.
Sea Launch sends Italian satellite into orbit
Associated Press
Sea Launch Co. successfully sent a communications satellite into orbit early Monday for Italy’s armed forces and NATO from its floating launch platform in the equatorial Pacific.
Ten years ago this week, Sea Launch succeeded in launching one of the most highly instrumented test missions ever flown. On March 27, 1999, DemoSat executed a precisely controlled flight profile that demonstrated the new sea-based concept, its Zenit-3SL launch vehicle performance and the entire system infrastructure.
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