Having finally gotten back on track financially, ICO Global Communications hit another stumbling block last weekend when the launch of its first satellite placed the payload in the Pacific Ocean, rather than in low earth orbit as intended.
The launch took place March 12 aboard Boeing Corp.’s Sea Launch submersible mobile launch platform, a converted oil rig located about 230 miles off the shore of Christmas Island in the Pacific. It was Sea Launch’s third launch ever and only the second commercial undertaking for the multinational operation.
The Zenit 3SL rocket carrying the satellite apparently successfully achieved liftoff, but it then suffered what Sea Launch officials called an “anomaly” in mid-flight and crashed into the ocean, destroying the $100 million ICO F-1 mobile communications satellite.
“The Sea Launch team is extremely disappointed with the failure,” said Will Trafton, president of Sea Launch. “I offer my sincerest regrets to Hughes and ICO-and I assure all of our customers that we will determine the cause of this failure and the necessary corrective actions and will share this information when it is available.”
ICO, which is in the process of emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection thanks to a team of investors led by Craig McCaw’s Eagle River Investments L.L.C., said the satellite was insured. The company has built and plans to launch 12 satellites, even though its complete system requires only 10. As such, ICO said it does not expect any delay in service as a result of the launch failure.
“We are disappointed with the loss of our first satellite,” said Richard Greco, ICO chief executive officer. “But launch failures are a well-known risk in this industry, and ICO’s planning has, from the outset, taken into account the possibility of such an occurrence … We expect no significant adverse impact on our business going forward.”
Satellite failures are nothing new to the mobile satellite services industry. In September 1998, a Zenit II rocket carrying 12 Globalstar L.P. satellites exploded at launch, destroying the entire payload. When building its constellation, Iridium L.L.C. failed to make contact with several satellites after successfully placing them in orbit.
The ironic situation with this launch failure is that both firms involved-ICO and Sea Launch-only recently began shedding their respective negative images. ICO has long awaited the chance to begin placing birds in orbit, but it was forced to declare bankruptcy before any launches could take place. McCaw’s rescue provided ICO with this opportunity at long last, and its failure cannot help but be somewhat discouraging.
The Sea Launch venture worked for years to make its dream of providing a lower-cost launch solution a reality, but the multinational nature of the consortium raised several national security concerns, and the U.S. government stalled progress for some time. The ICO launch was well publicized, and although takeoff was successful, the rocket anomaly has somewhat tarnished the start-up’s reputation.
