Sea Launch, which launches a Zenit rocket, has the advantage of GEO launches, directly from the equator, thus saving fuel and taking advantage of the Earth’s rotation speed. The floating base is a former North Sea oil platform. It is prepared in the Baltic, shipped by sea under the Oresund, across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. It is then semi-submerged, the crew abandons it, and the launch occurs automatically. The first launch with a demonstration payload takes place in March 1999. The first operational launch is on October 10, 1999. The second operational launch, in March 2000, fails, with the Russians and Ukrainians accusing each other. An investigation commission will attribute the blame to SW. Sea Launch does not lose its customers and returns to launch on July 28, 2000. In total, it launches 31 GEO satellites, with 3 failures. With the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the joint venture was suspended. In September 2016, Sea Launch was sold to the Russian company S7, which reached an agreement with the Ukrainians in August 2017 for the supply of 12 Zenit launchers and to resume launches.
