Sea Launch Chief Executive Kjell Karlsen said his launch services company resorted to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing only at the last minute, after concluding that it could not reach an agreement with a former customer, Hughes Communications, on a stretched-out payment of a $52.3 million arbitration award Hughes won against Sea Launch.rnIn a Jan. 23 interview, Karlsen said Sea Launch is investigating a sale-and-leaseback option for its Odyssey sea-based launch platform, a converted oil rig that Karlsen said was valued in 2007 at more than $125 million. Such a move could provide Sea Launch with cash to keep its operation going as its sorts out its longer-term debt. Karlsen said Odyssey, which can house 80-90 people, could be converted to other offshore business purposes and thus can be monetized to provide at least some operational leverage.
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