Lost in the incident was the Hughes Space and Communications-built satellite ordered by ICO Global Communications Ltd., of London. ICO intended to use the satellite as part of its effort to provide worldwide cellular telephone service.
"I can only express sincere regret to Hughes and ICO for this event We've got a good rocket and we've got a great team, and as someone once said this business is not for the faint of heart."
The mishap is especially devastating to ICO, a company that is facing serious financial problems and is trying to recover from bankruptcy. A private investor had already committed $500 million to the reorganization. Another $700 million is planned.
"I can only express sincere regret to Hughes and ICO for this event," Trafton said. "Weve got a good rocket and weve got a great team, and as someone once said, this business is not for the faint of heart."
Sundays incident took place in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, some 230 miles (370 kilometers) east of Christmas Island.
The rocket involved is a modified Zenit 3-SL rocket. It has three stages: the first two are standard Zenit stages provided by KB Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Ukraine. The rockets third stage is a Russian RSC Energia Block DM-SL upper stage of the type normally flown on Proton rockets.
Boeing provides the nosecone that protects the satellite during launch; in this case ICOs F 1.
Events unfolded when the 209-foot- (63.7-meter-) tall rocket lifted off from its oceangoing platform on time at 9:49 a.m. EST (14:49 GMT). Weather was ideal and the rocket lit up the night sky as it climbed away from the converted oil drilling rig.
According to Trafton, the rocket's first stage appeared to fly normally and separate as planned after two minutes of flight.
Then, while the second stage was burning during the next seven minutes, flight controllers began losing their radio lock on the rocket. Moments later, controllers began seeing indications that the rocket was flying off course. Soon after they lost contact with the vehicle.
Officials say the rocket destroyed itself, either from aerodynamic forces as the rocket flew off course, or from the rocket's own self-destruct system sensing a problem and setting off its explosive devices.
Trafton said the Zenit rocket does not have a flight termination system so ground controllers cannot set off the self-destruct charges by remote control. "At this point we believe the spacecraft went into the Pacific Ocean some 4,300 kilometers (2,670 miles) from the launch site. There was no damage to the command ship or the launch platform, and no injuries to anyone," Trafton said.
Trafton, a former NASA space station manager, told SPACE.com he could not rule out any particular system or piece of hardware as causing the problem.
Trafton was confident, however, that none of the Ukrainian- or Russian-built stages flown on the Sea Launch vehicle shared the same design as the stages used on the Proton rocket.
A Proton rocket is to carry a Russian-built module to the International Space Station in July. Its launch has been delayed, in part, due to failures of other Proton rocket hardware that shares similar designs.
An investigation team will be formed, initially led by the Ukrainians. Eventually Sea Launchs staff will be brought into the effort, Trafton said.
Still somewhat of a novelty in the aerospace industry, Sea Launch is trying to establish itself as a contender in the bid for billions of commercial launch dollars each year.
An international venture with commercial partners from the United States, Russia, Ukraine and Norway, Sea Launchs main distinction is that instead of having a seaside launch pad, it has a seafaring launch pad.
The Sea Launch concept includes a launch control support ship and modified oil drilling platform serving as the portable launch pad. Dubbed Odyssey, the platform is partially submerged with thousands of gallons of water ballast to steady the pad.
By steaming to the equator and launching from a point where Earth is rotating faster than at launch sites such as Cape Canaveral, the rocket requires less energy to get into orbit. That, in turn, means that satellites can carry more fuel on board, which prolongs their life and increases their profitability.
Other benefits include ideal launch weather year-round; no one else to compete with for using the launch range and you can launch to any orbit polar, equatorial or anything in-between.
For its part, ICO plans to spread around its future launches to manage the risk of flying only on one particular rocket. As a result, additional ICO launches are planned on Russian Proton, Boeing Delta 3 and Lockheed Martin Atlas 2-AS rockets.
Sundays Pacific Ocean blastoff was the third major mission launched to Earth orbit during the past few hours, but the only one to fail. The two successful missions included:
- A Russian Krunichev Proton rocket carried the first of a new generation communications satellite into orbit overnight. Launch of the Express 6-A satellite from the desert in Kazakstan took place at 11:07 p.m. EST Saturday (04:07 GMT Sunday).
The launch was watched closely by NASA officials because the inconstant Proton rocket is a key player in plans to launch the next major module of the International Space Station in July.
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