By Dave Ahearn
Sea Launch, until now providing launch services for non-governmental or dual-use customers, will seek contracts from NASA to provide cargo re-supply missions to the International Space Station, according to Rob Peckham, Sea Launch president and general manager.
Peckham also said he is seeing launch prices in the industry rising to levels not seen since the late 1990s. As well, he said he is content with current U.S. sensitive- technology export rules, and doesn’t seek changes there, unlike some industry firms and groups. President Bush, however, is pressing ahead with more relaxed rules such as expedited export licensing processes.
Peckham, speaking before a luncheon meeting of the Washington Space Business Roundtable at the University Club in Washington, said he welcomes competition from launch service providers such as China, using its Long March rocket, and India.
However, he noted, Sea Launch is a private company with private funding from customers, and he would be concerned if other providers begin using their government subsidies to under-price Sea Launch, a global concern with offices in Long Beach, Calif.
Finally, Peckham was ebullient that Sea Launch rallied from a disastrous rocket explosion on its sea-going mobile maritime launch platform a year ago to launch a satellite for Thuraya earlier this month.
He said Sea Launch plans another five missions from its sea-going launch platform, and three land launches (Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan) for a total of nine launches this year; another six ocean and three land launches next year; and a total of 10 launches in 2010.