[Satellite TODAY Insider 10-29-10] Sea Launch Co. has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after completing its reorganization process Oct. 27, the company announced.
    Sea Launch’s plan of reorganization, approved in July by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Delaware and cleared by a U.S. government committee in September, will see Russian corporation Energia Overseas Ltd. (EOL) acquire a majority ownership of the reorganized Sea Launch entity. EOL’s U.S. affiliate, Energia Logistics, will assume management of rocket assembly and satellite integration operations at the existing Sea Launch Home Port facilities. Another EOL affiliate based in Moscow will manage supply chain operations of all CIS-based primary and second-tier suppliers for the Sea Launch system.
    The successor entity, Sea Launch SARL, will be responsible for corporate functions at its operations headquarters and will maintain some assets at Sea Launch Home Port in Long Beach, Calif. EOL will continue to use the Zenit-3SL launch system.
    Sea Launch said it intends to repay its $30 million debtor-in-possession loans in full, while current trade vendor’s unsecured claims, such as those from Aker and Boeing, would be repaid at 17.5 percent on the dollar.
    Sea Launch President and General Manager Kjell Karlsen and CTO Brett Carman will remain with the company. EOL said it would add executives to the Sea Launch team as it returns to full flight operations.
    In a statement, EOL Spokesman Dennis Shomko said the company plans to completely overhaul Sea Launch’s business. “We had an opportunity to systematically analyze all the existing processes and operations, both internal and external, and as a result, we are talking about an overhaul of the business at all levels. For customers, that means transparency, reliability and predictability. We are confident that we can deliver a competitive level of ‘business comfort’ to them, while ensuring that our suppliers are managed appropriately.”
     The company has remained active throughout the bankruptcy process. In July, Sea Launch won multiple launch contracts with operators EchoStar and AsiaSat. A $25 million credit line from Space Launch Services has allowed Sea Launch to continue operating through reorganization.
     Sea Launch is preparing for its first mission since emerging from bankruptcy — a Land Launch mission carrying the Intelsat-18 communications satellite, which could liftoff as early as the first quarter of 2011 from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan. The next mission from Sea Launch’s equatorial launch site is planned for the 2011 third quarter.

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