"For the first time they [Ukrainian officials] raised the issue seriously. This requires serous and thorough preparations," Anatoly Perminov said.

He said that the two neighbors have no agreements on the issue.

Perminov added that the possibility of taking Ukrainian astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) should be agreed with all states, participating in the project.

"Preparing a special agreement may take about a year," he added.

earlier related report
Sea Launch Company Emerges From Chapter 11
Long Beach CA (SPX) Oct 29 - Sea Launch Company has successfully completed its Chapter 11 reorganization process, effective October 27, 2010. As part of the court-approved Plan of Reorganization, Energia Overseas Limited (EOL), a Russian corporation, will have acquired a majority ownership of the reorganized Sea Launch entity.

The Plan of Reorganization was approved by Judge Brendan Shannon, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 27, 2010. The successor entity, Sea Launch S.a.r.l., will be responsible for corporate functions at its operations headquarters and will maintain some assets at Sea Launch Home Port, in the Port of Long Beach, in Southern California.

Energia Logistics Ltd., a U.S. corporation, will assume management of rocket assembly and satellite integration operations at the existing Sea Launch Home Port facilities.

A Moscow-based EOL-affiliate will manage supply chain operations of all CIS-based primary and second-tier suppliers for the Sea Launch system.

The reliable Zenit-3SL launch system and its experienced operations team, with a history of 30 launches to date, will continue to support future launches.

Kjell Karlsen, Sea Launch president and general manager, and Brett Carman, chief financial officer - as well as some of the senior members of Sea Launch's executive management team - are transitioning to the new Sea Launch entity and will be joined by new professionals who will be added to the Sea Launch team as it returns to full flight operations.

Leading up to the closing of the transaction with EOL, Sea Launch successfully completed a series of milestones in 2009-10, followed by U.S. Government review of the new ownership structure. The transaction cleared the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on September 8, 2010.

"We are thrilled to have successfully emerged from Chapter 11 with a solid financial structure and a healthy manifest of future launches," said Karlsen.

"Completing this transaction will represent a significant accomplishment in the final steps toward re-entering the market as a strong and competitive commercial launch service provider.

We are now planning for our return to launch operations in 2011, building on the continuity of our collective expertise and proven experience of our launch system and our team.

"I want to thank everyone involved in supporting this effort, including our dedicated employees, partners and suppliers, as well as our advisors and customers, who have trusted us to provide future access to space for their satellites. We could not have succeeded in this endeavor without their commitment and support."

"We had an opportunity to systematically analyze all the existing processes and operations, both internal and external, and as a result, we are talking about an overhaul of the business at all levels," said Dennis Shomko a spokesman for EOL.

"For customers, that means transparency, reliability and predictability. We are confident that we can deliver a competitive level of 'business comfort' to them, while ensuring that our suppliers are managed appropriately. "

Sea Launch is currently gearing up its operations and conducting maintenance of all launch related systems, while at the same time preparing for a Land Launch mission slated for as early as the 1st Quarter of 2011. This mission, the launch of the Intelsat-18 communications satellite, will originate from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan.

The next mission from the equatorial launch site is planned for the 3rd Quarter of 2011. The world's only ocean-based launch operations originate from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude, in international waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Jefferies and Company, Alston and Bird and Chris Picone of Buccino and Associates, Inc., served as advisors to Sea Launch. Salans, LLP, and Avicon (UK) served as advisors to Energia Overseas Limited.

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