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Edition 12 - 28 March 1999
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# Rocket launched from platform floating in Pacific Ocean #

27 March 1999

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- A rocket roared off a converted oil
platform floating in the equatorial Pacific Saturday in the first test
of an international venture's oceangoing satellite launch system. 

The Ukrainian- and Russian-built Zenit-3SL rocket carried a dummy
satellite as it lifted off from the Odyssey, a self-propelled platform
stationed 1,400 miles south of Hawaii. 

Fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen, the three-stage rocket was to
put the satellite into a geosynchronous orbit, one in which it stays
over a particular area of the Earth. It was expected to take 11/2
hours to determine the success of the 8:30 p.m. EST launch. 

Sea Launch Co.'s inaugural launch was conducted from mission control
on the accompanying ship Sea Launch Commander. Company officials
watched by satellite video link to Long Beach, home port for the two
vessels. 

The launch was delayed more than three hours by minor problems with
support equipment. The company, citing cautiousness, had already
pushed it back one day. 

The demonstration launch was a critical step for Sea Launch Co., which
has put $500 million into the first commercial marine-based launch
system in hopes of capturing a chunk of the growing business of
boosting communications satellite. 

Launches at the equator allow a rocket to carry more weight into space
than they can from other latitudes. The payload simulated an HS 702, a
big commercial communications satellite built by Hughes Space and
Communications. 

Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://cnn.com/US/9903/27/AM-SeaLaunch.ap/


# Report: space rockets damaging Earth's environment #

24 March 1999

MOSCOW (AP) -- Pollution from space rockets is a major source of
damage to the Earth's ozone layer and toxic rocket fuel is a growing
threat to peoples' health in many areas, The Moscow Times reported
Wednesday. 

Alexei Yablokov, head of the Center for Environmental Policy, said
that 50 percent of the shrinking of the ozone layer can be attributed
to the growing number of rockets sent in to space with satellites and
other cargo, the report said. 

Russia and other nations with space programs should limit the number
of rocket launches to protect the environment, Yablokov said. 

"In 20 or 30 years there will be a catastrophe," said Yablokov, who
was President Boris Yeltsin's scientific adviser from 1992 to 1993. 

"We've got about three years to come up with international norms
regulating the space activity," he added. 

Yablokov is the editor of a book co-authored by several scientists and
entitled, "Environmental Dangers of Space Exploration." 

Rockets shower large areas with toxic fuel, posing a health threat to
people, Yablokov said. About two percent of Russia is routinely
subjected to rocket fuel pollution, he said. 

Yablokov acknowledged it would be difficult to restrict the number of
rocket launches, which have become big business as more and more
companies put satellites in to orbit. 

Copyright 1999   The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9903/24/space.pollution.ap/index.html

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