Sea Launch
Another of the company's important projects of recent years is Sea Launch, a unique spacecraft launch technology. With marine components produced by Rubin, Sea Launch uses a specially-modified floating oil platform positioned in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, as a launch pad. In 1999, shortly after the company was founded, the Sea Launch consortium claimed that their launch-related operating costs would be lower than a land-based equivalent due in part to reduced staff requirements. The platform and command ship have 310 crew members.