Boeing may exit Sea Launch

After nearly 15 years of trying to prop up an unusual way to launch satellites, Boeing is expected to walk away from its stake in California-based Sea Launch.

Sea Launch President Kjell Karlsen said Wednesday that Boeing probably would have little or no ownership stake after the rocket-launch company emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization early next year.

"Based on what Boeing has said to us, I don't expect them to commit any more capital to this venture," Karlsen said. "I would like to see Boeing being part of the new Sea Launch, but it's more likely they will work in a supplier capacity and not in an ownership role." Boeing's pullback could jeopardize Sea Launch if it is unable to find other investors, analysts said.

A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on its future role in Sea Launch.

Boeing owns 40 percent of Sea Launch, which it co-founded with a consortium of foreign companies in 1995 as a less expensive way to launch commercial satellites, many of them built at its El Segundo plant. From its base in Long Beach, Sea Launch transports commercial satellites on a specially built ship, then launches them on rockets from a seagoing platform. Sea Launch was forced into bankruptcy in June after it could not pay a $52-million judgment against it. The bankruptcy filing came after a platform explosion in 2007 destroyed a commercial satellite and set operations back a year.