Kjell Karlsen has resigned as president of launch services provider Sea Launch to pursue other opportunities outside space industry. He will leave the company on 28 February.
Karlsen joined Sea Launch as vice president and chief financial officer in…
Kjell Karlsen has resigned as president of launch services provider Sea Launch to pursue other opportunities outside space industry. He will leave the company on 28 February.
Karlsen joined Sea Launch as vice president and chief financial officer in October 1999, becoming its president in July 2008. He has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 2010.
Sea Launch stated that the company’s senior executive team will carry out Karlsen’s former duties and responsibilities.
Commenting on his departure, Karlsen stated, “I am appreciative of the opportunities that I have been given while at Sea Launch and will forever be grateful for my time here. Through the growing participation of RSC Energia, I believe the evolution of the company going forward will allow it to continue to innovate and create value for world’s satellite operator community.
“I am very proud to have been able to represent Sea Launch for the past 14 years and I am looking forward to working in a new industry with a new set of challenges and opportunities.”
Karlsen’s tenure at the top of Sea Launch has been a dramatic one. After replacing Robert Peckham in 2008, Karlsen was in charge when the company’s hardware supply issues led to it having to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2009.
Sea Launch finally emerged from bankruptcy in October 2010 with Russian rocket manufacturer Energia taking control.
It was another year until the company completed its return to flight with the launch of Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 7 in September 2011.
In February 2013 it suffered a launch failure with the Zenit-3SL rocket carrying Intelsat-27 failing approximately 40 seconds after liftoff. Since then, Sea Launch has looked to recover its position in the industry. Its first flight since that failure is scheduled to take place in April 2014.
Sea Launch’s chief executive officer Sergey Gugkaev said, “We appreciate Mr. Karlsen’s contribution, dedication and leadership to Sea Launch during his employment. We highly value his personal and business skills feel sorry about his departure and wish him all the best in his career.”
