During the final "dry" roll-out phase of integrated launch vehicle (ILV) processing at Home Port in support of the EUTELSAT 3B mission, a discrepancy in the nominal movement of the cable-mast and the Zenit-2S LV lateral plate occurred while installing the ILV onto the launch pad. This caused mechanical damage to the lateral plate housing located on the inter-stage truss of the LV. Resolution of this condition will result in a delay to the planned April 15, 2014 launch date.
A decision was made to de-mate the Payload Unit and Block-DM-SL onboard the Sea Launch Commander to resolve the issue, establish the root cause and perform additional checks of the interface between the launch vehicle and ground support equipment connectors.
Once the above tasks have been completed, Sea Launch will announce an updated schedule and launch day for EUTELSAT 3B.
The EUTELSAT 3B satellite was not powered on during the operation on the launch vehicle and was unaffected. It remains in a safe configuration.
++ Sea Launch to Relocate Headquarters from Bern to Nyon
In other news, Sea Launch is relocating its corporate headquarters from Bern to Nyon, canton of Vaud, Switzerland.
The new address is Chemin d'Eysins 47, CH-1260 Nyon, Switzerland. Sea Launch will continue to use the present telephone and facsimile numbers and e-mail addresses.
"This move allows Sea Launch to take advantage of Nyon's strong talent pool, its excellent transport facilities, both by air and rail and is in close proximity to our EMEA customer base", said Sergey Gugkaev, Chief Executive Officer and member, Board of Directors of Sea Launch. "Our new location will allow us to continue to improve our ability to serve our customers at the highest levels."
