No plans yet to move Sea Launch platform closer to Russian coast - S7 Group head
MOSCOW. Sept 30 (Interfax) - Plans at the initial stage do not envisage transporting the Sea Launch floating cosmodrome closer to the Russian coasts, S7 Group general director Vladislav Filev told reporters on Friday.
"There are no plans to move the Sea Launch towards the Russian coasts at the first stage. The 'patient' is not transportable. We will decide what to do when the project is revived," he said.
The remaining service life of the Sea Launch is 15 years, he said.
"It is approximately 90 rocket launches. It is possible to develop rockets, and even more than one rocket, for these 90 launches," Filev said.
For his part, Energia Rocket and Space Corporation head Vladimir Solntsev said that the corporation was ready to launch spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Sea Launch platform if such a proposal was made.
"It is an interesting idea. If the S7 head wants this and if he suggests transport systems costing less than ours, then why not," Solntsev told reporters on Friday.
S7 Group entered into a contract with Sea Launch Group on September 27 in order to procure Sea Launch project assets. The subject of the deal: the Sea Launch Commander ship and the Odyssey platform with installed rocket-segment equipment, the ground equipment at the base Port of Long Beach (U.S.) and the Sea Launch trademark.
The deal is due to be closed in six months, after it gains the approval of the U.S. authorities and a number of agreements, integral parts of this deal, are signed. The deal requires the approval of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
