Sea Launch Scraps Latest Launch

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Sea Launch Co. said late Tuesday that unusually strong ocean currents at its launch site in the Pacific Ocean have forced the Long Beach-based company to reschedule its most recent launch effort.

The company, which coordinates and launches commercial satellites from its converted oil rig platform near the equator, said its launch team is reorganizing an extended schedule for the re-launch of the communications satellite it was planning launch Nov. 14. The company said the entire crew is now heading back to its home port in Long Beach and gave no details of a date for the launch.

This cancellation is the latest blow to the company, which is owned by Boeing Co. Earlier this year; a failed launch resulted in the total loss of a communications satellite as well as minor damage to the launch platform. In that incident, the rocket malfunctioned just seconds into the launch, resulting in a fiery explosion. No one was hurt during the incident.

The Sea Launch team originally arrived at the launch site on Nov. 10 and initiated a countdown for a Nov. 14 launch, which was postponed indefinitely due to abnormally strong currents and inclement weather. The journey from the platform to home port takes between one and two weeks, Sea Launch said.

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