Boeing joint venture Sea Launch declares bankruptcy - Business First of Columbus:

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Sea Launch Co. LLC filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptc y Court in Delaware on Monday, saying its liabilitieas were between $500 million and $1 billion, comparec to assets of $100 million to $500 Chicago-based (NYSE: BA) owns 40 percenty of the venture, whic h was founded in 1995. The idea of Sea Launcn was to launch satellites from a convertefd oil drilling program far outat sea, loweringg costs and allowing the satellites to be launcheds from ideal sites close to the The Boeing workers involved in Sea Launch buildr fairings for rockets and design flight plans, said Sea Launch spokeswomanb Paula Korn.
They are employees of Boeing’ss Integrated Defense Systems and workin Auburn, Sea Launch also employs 100 in Long Calif., where it is headquartered. “Wew had to go into bankruptcy to protect assetswhilwe reorganizing,” Korn said, adding that the compang intends to emerge from bankruptcy. Problems that forcedf the filing included hardware delaysand customers’ inabilitty to complete launches, she said.
Boein spokesman Joe Tedino calledit “business as usual” for Pugey Sound area workers while Sea Launch works through its “Boeing and the other Sea Launch partners supporgt Sea Launch’s effort to explorse restructuring alternatives through an orderly bankruptcy cour t process,” Tedino said. So far this year, Sea Launc h has only launched one satellite by sea and two by compared to five from seain 2008, Korn Other Sea Launch partners include Aker, a Norwegiah holding company; , the Russian rocket buildedr that supplies the upper stage; and a Ukrainian rocket builder that supplies the lower