After an apparently successful liftoff today at 6:49 a.m., PST, the Sea Launch rocket carrying the ICO F-1 mobile communications satellite suffered an anomaly.
“The Sea Launch team is extremely disappointed with the failure,” Will Trafton, president of Sea Launch, said shortly after the anomaly was confirmed.
“I offer my sincerest regrets to Hughes and ICO — and I assure all of our customers that we will determine the cause of this failure and the necessary corrective actions and will share this information when it is available.
The Sea Launch rocket lifted off in a southeasterly direction from the company’s mobile launch platform, approximately 230 miles from Kiritimati (Christmas) Island in the Pacific.
Loss of communication of the launch vehicle occurred several minutes into the flight when the Sea Launch Commander, the assembly & command ship (ACS), lost flight data signals from the rocket.
Each partner is actively reviewing all the available launch data. Upon approval of a specific Technical Assistance Agreement for this type of an event, an investigation oversight board will be formed.
Loss of the rocket and its payload occurred over the Pacific Ocean and the incident posed no known safety threat to populations. No Sea Launch personnel were injured and neither the ACS nor the launch platform sustained damage.
“This is a tough business, and failures are an unfortunate part of this industry,” Trafton continued. “I am extremely proud of the Sea Launch team. This group of professionals from four nations will recover from this disappointment and provide reliable launch services in the future.”
