After testing, fueling and encapsulating the spacecraft, the Sea Launch team prepares to move the completed Payload Unit from the Payload Processing Facility to the assemply hall on the Sea Launch
Commander. Here, the Payload Unit is rolled out onto a specially designed transporter. Sasha Bronstein provides Safety oversight.

Zenoa Henderson, quality engineer, checks the chains to secure the safty of the Payload Unit during the transfer process.

With the Payload Unit secured on the transporter, the transfer process begins.

Onlookers from the Odyssey Launch Platform watch the Payload Unit move up the ship's stern ramp and into the assembly hall for mating with the Zenit-3SL rocket.

(Photos by David Hutsell
and Paula Korn for Sea Launch )

Return to Current Launch Page