The Sea Launch partners and Boeing Space & Communications officials today announced their intention to have a common sales and marketing organization for Sea Launch and Boeing Delta commercial launch services.

Gale Schluter, vice president and general manager Boeing Expendable Launch Systems, announced that the new organization and its leadership were outlined in a memo to employees on Friday.

The new marketing and sales organization will fall under Boeing Launch Services Inc. and will be led by former Sea Launch president and general manager, Will Trafton, who will report to Schluter.

A separate organization under Schluter and Trafton will handle U.S. government marketing and sales for the Boeing Delta. Dave Schweikle will be responsible for the sales of launch services to the U.S. government and report to the vice president-general manager/vice president-deputy general manager of Expendable Launch Systems. Both marketing and sales organizations will be located in Huntington Beach, Calif.

While Boeing Launch Services Inc., will market and sell both Sea Launch and Delta commercial launch services, the Sea Launch venture will continue to operate as a separate entity. "From a customer service and mission assurance standpoint, it was imperative that we moved towards common marketing and sales, without changing the way the Sea Launch or Delta programs are run," Schluter said. "Our customers have a high degree of confidence in both programs, so we have not changed anything about the way in which we will interface with the customers leading up to launch."

"The creation of Boeing Launch Services is significant for both Sea Launch and the Delta program," said Trafton. "BLS will provide a wider array of launch service options through a single sales and marketing organization which we believe will lead to time and cost savings for our customers. It also strengthens our mutual launch backup agreement, signed in March of this year, which, in turn, means greater flexibility and schedule assurance for our customers. Finally, this action demonstrates Boeing's long-term commitment to Sea Launch."

Sea Launch is a limited liability company with headquarters and home port facilities in Long Beach, Calif. The company is owned by The Boeing Co. (40%); RSC-Energia of Moscow (25%); Anglo-Norwegian Kvaerner Group of Oslo, Norway (20%); and SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine (15%).

The Boeing Co. is the largest aerospace company in the world and the United States' leading exporter. It is NASA's largest contractor and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft. The company's capabilities in aerospace also include rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch vehicles, satellites, and advanced information and communication systems. The company has an extensive global reach with customers in 145 countries.