washington
—


Sea Launch arrived on the scene as a new launch services provider with an innovative idea and established backing. But




this




new kid on the block had




to prove itself with a demonstration launch before it could




participate as a commercial launch provider.

On March 27, 1999, Sea Launch




successfully lofted




a 4,500-kilogram dummy satellite dubbed DemoSat into geostationary transfer orbit from its equatorial platform in the Pacific Ocean




. That launch satisfied nervous customers and insurers that the vehicle was flight worthy.

Then Seattle-based Boeing Co. began studying the concept of a sea-based launch system in 1993, according to the Sea Launch Web site. In April 1995,




Sea Launch formed




as a collaboration between Boeing and several international companies: Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye and Russia’s Energia design bureaus, and shipbuilder Kvaerner A/S of Oslo, Norway




.

But Sea Launch ran into difficulties amid a 1998 U.S. crackdown on space technology exports stemming from allegations that China was benefiting militarily from launching U.S.-made commercial communications satellites. Initially, two U.S. satellite makers, Hughes and Space Systems/Loral, were accused of improperly transferring sensitive technology to China’s government-owned rocket maker during the course of launch failure investigations. But other U.S. companies were soon caught up in the crackdown.

On July 27, 1998,




the U.S. State Department suspended work on the Sea Launch program after




Boeing




told U.S. government officials that it had shared technical information with its Russian and Ukrainian partners without the necessary permits




.

Boeing said at the time it had underestimated the complex nature of the technology transfer necessary for Sea Launch and that it had taken steps to correct the problem.

To ease these concerns,




Sea Launch agreed to conduct




a demonstration launch, which was a success




.

Almost six months later




, Sea Launch made its first commercial flight




, lofting the




Hughes-built DirecTV 1-R broadcast satellite to geostationary transfer orbit.

Since then Sea Launch has made 22 successful launches




and has experienced




two




failures, including a platform explosion in January 2007 that halted




operations for almost a year, the company’s Web site said.