WASHINGTON-Boeing Co.’s Sea Launch program has received the go-ahead from the Department of State for a proposed launch early next year, Boeing announced last week. The State Department “has terminated its suspension of The Boeing Company’s export license on the Sea Launch program,” Boeing said in a statement.
The State Department withdrew Boeing’s license July 27 following concerns Boeing may have transferred technical information without proper approval. As part of a settlement, Boeing paid a portion of an assessed fine. The remainder of the fine will be used internally over a three-year period to pay the costs of Sea Launch export compliance measures, the company said.
Boeing owns a 40-percent interest in a consortium that includes companies from the United States, Russia, Ukraine and Norway. Sea Launch will provide launch service to boost commercial communications satellites into orbit from equatorial waters in the Pacific from a floating platform.
