Sea Launch Fixes Glitch, Prepares to Loft a Satellite for PanAmSat

Having corrected a software glitch that doomed its last mission, Sea Launch will hoist a PanAmSat Corp. satellite into orbit in late July, the multinational consortium said Wednesday.

Long Beach-based Sea Launch said an internal review board had fixed the glitch, updated processes that allowed the problem to go undetected and briefed its customers and insurance companies in recent weeks.

“Based on the investigation and subsequent report, we are completely confident the root cause was clearly identified,” said Jim Maser, Sea Launch chief engineer, who chaired the review board.

On March 12 a rocket blasted off from Sea Launch’s mobile platform near the equator, but a communications failure caused the destruction of the rocket and its payload--a satellite for ICO Global Communications Ltd. worth more than $200 million.

Sea Launch had enjoyed two smooth previous launches, including a test firing in March 1999 and a commercial mission last October.

The July mission will launch a PAS-9 communications satellite for PanAmSat built by Hughes Electronics Corp. .