Sea Launch launching KoreaSat-5 Satellite for KT Sat.
Sea Launch launching KoreaSat-5 satellite for KT Sat
KT Sat, Co, Ltd. is a Korea-based satellite operator and a subsidiary of the KT Corp. (KT or KT Telecom), formerly Korea Telecom. KT Sat operates five satellites in orbit, Koreasat-5, Koreasat-5a, Koreasat-6, Koreasat-7 (transponder lease on ABS-7 satellite from ABS satellite operator) and Koreasat-8 (transponder lease on ABS-2 satellite from ABS satellite operator).
KT Sat was established on December 4th 2012 when KT spun off its satellite business in an effort to enhance operational specialization and to foster management efficiency. With KT Sat separated it enabled the company to respond more promptly to the changing market environments as well as increasing competitiveness. KT Sat’s expansion started with the launch of two new satellites, Koreasat-7 and Koreasat-5A in 2017 expanding the satellite coverage to Southeast and Southwest Asia, including the Philippines and Indonesia. Customer base also widened since then to Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand and Afghanistan.
Sea Launch is a multinational spacecraft launch service that uses a mobile maritime launch platform for equatorial launches of satellites on specialized Zenit-3SL rockets. The company was headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland but ceased operations due to technical problems and lower demands as of 2014. In 2018 Sea Launch was acquired by Russian S7 Group and in 2020 all vessels were moved to Russia and the HQ in Nyon was liquidated.
By 2013, Sea Launch had assembled and launched 31 rockets, with 3 failures and 1 partial failure. All had been communications satellites intended for geostationary transfer orbit with such customers as EchoStar, DirecTV, Eutelsat, XM Satellite Radio, PanAmSat (Intelsat), and Thuraya (YahSat).