[Satellite News – 5-7-08] The inaugural flight of the Zenit-3SLB Land Launch vehicle carried the Amos-3 satellite into space April 28 from Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, the culmination of a program initiated in 2003 to provide more options for placing medium-weight satellites into orbit.
    Land Launch, a collaboration of Sea Launch Co. and Space International Services (SIS) of Russia, uses existing Zenit technology and infrastructure. Sea Launch provides commercial customers with mission management, while Space International manages launch operations.
    “Sea Launch personnel were on hand to observe portions of the launch campaign,” Sea Launch CEO Rob Peckham said. “The Amos-3 launch proved the upgraded infrastructure and process at Baikonur, and lessons learned from that campaign will be applied to those in the near future. The Amos-3 launch was successful and the mission revalidated the robustness of the system.”
    Land Launch has a backlog of six missions, and Peckham expects the vehicle to perform two to four missions per year.
Peckham discussed the future of Land Launch and the market with Satellite News News Editor Jessica Pearce.
 

Satellite News: What will Land Launch bring to Sea Launch’s business?

Peckham: Land Launch represents a major opportunity for Sea Launch to expand its role in the commercial space transportation arena. Through our Land Launch offering, we are responding to the demand for reliable, single payload capabilities in the medium-weight payload market.

Satellite News: How does Land Launch differ from the Sea Launch rocket?

Peckham: The Land Launch vehicle optimizes mass and performance for launches from the Baikonur Space Center. While two-stage Zenit configurations were previously launched from Baikonur, three-stage versions had not, so the Zenit-3SLB also has a slightly modified Block-DM upper stage as well as payload accommodations adapted to operations at Baikonur.   

Satellite News: Will you be competing for payloads?

Peckham: The payloads are the same, the only difference is in the separated mass of the satellites. Sea Launch provides direct insertion into geosynchronous transfer orbit for heavy satellites. Land Launch provides services for medium satellites. The system is virtually the same — by land or by sea. The significant difference is the launch location relative to the equator.

Satellite News: Who do you consider your competition?

Peckham: Arianespace’s new Soyuz system at French Guiana is our primary competitor in the medium range. Arianespace’s capacity for launching multiple payloads on an Ariane vehicle also accommodates some medium-weight spacecraft. For medium-weight satellites we are not competitive on the Sea Launch system, which is why Land Launch is a popular option for customers with medium satellites.

Satellite News: You have a total of nine launches planned in 2008, six for Sea Launch and three for Land Launch. Do you expect to keep the same ratio in the future or will there be more balance between the two services?

Peckham: The ratio will be representative of demand. We’re offering this service to address our customer’s requirements. The ratio is dependent on our capacity to meet the needs of the market. The ratio of Sea Launch to Land Launch missions in the future remains to be seen.