Sea Launch Vessels Awarded Port of Long Beach Green Flags

Long Beach, Calif., (Sea Launch) – Sea Launch has received two Green Flag awards for 100-percent compliance in marine operations within the Port of Long Beach. Representatives of the Port presented the awards this morning to the captains of the Sea Launch Commander and the Odyssey Launch Platform. In 2006, both vessels complied with the voluntary environmental program at 100-percent performance.

As a part of the Green Port Policy, the Port of Long Beach initiated the Green Flag Program in late 2005 to monitor vessel speed at no more than 12nm/hr within 20nm of the Port complex. The Green Flags are presented throughout the year to various vessel operators with ships that achieved a 100-percent compliance rate for the calendar year. Vessels complying with this program at 100-percent performance earn a Green Flag and vessels with 90-percent compliance or greater qualify for a 15-percent dockage discount at the Port.

The 650-foot Sea Launch Commander (also known as the Assembly and Command Ship) houses a rocket assembly hall and a launch control center to support the launches of heavy commercial satellites on their way to geostationary orbit. The ship also provides accommodations for 240 launch personnel and marine crew, who support launch operations at an equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude (south of Hawaii), in international waters.

The 430-foot long Odyssey Launch Platform is one of the world’s largest semi-submersible vessels and accommodates a launch pad, launch support infrastructure and fuel for Sea Launch’s 200-foot Zenit-3SL rocket. The catamaran-style vessel also accommodates up to 70 launch personnel and marine crew, all of whom transfer to the ship just prior to launch. The vessel has twin hulls, or pontoons, each the size of a large submarine. At the launch site, the platform is ballasted 65 feet to launch depth, to provide stability during liftoff.

Sea Launch is currently preparing for its next mission in mid-November, when it will launch the Thuraya-3 mobile communications satellite for the Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company, of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

About Sea Launch Company
Sea Launch Company, LLC, based in Long Beach, Calif., is an international partnership of companies from the United States, Russia, Norway and Ukraine that provides heavy lift launch services to commercial satellite customers. With the advantage of a launch site on the Equator, the Zenit-3SL rocket can lift a heavier spacecraft mass or provide longer life on orbit, offering best value plus schedule assurance. For more information, please visit the Sea Launch website, at: www.sea-launch.com.

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