Russian Space Corporation to Create New Launch Vehicle for Sea Launch in 5 Years

According to corporation's director, Russia's S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia will devise within five years a new carrier rocket for the Sea Launch floating space pad project.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia's S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation (RSC) Energia will devise within five years a new carrier rocket for the Sea Launch (Morskoi Start) floating space pad project, the corporation's director said Friday.

"This symbiosis, I am sure, will allow us to to create a new launch vehicle in absolutely short deadlines. I myself see a reference point of five years," General Director Vladimir Solntsev told reporters.

Sea Launch was formed in 1995 as a consortium of four companies from Norway, Russia, Ukraine and the United States, and was managed by US aerospace giant Boeing. The project aimed to use a floating launch site to place rockets on the equator – the best possible location for launch – which gives the rocket additional speed on lift-off thanks to centripetal force caused by Earth's rotation.

Sea Launch resumed operations in 2011 after a 30-month hiatus that saw passage through US Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Now the company is 95-percent owned by Energia Overseas Limited, a subsidiary of Energia.