Posted: Tue, Feb 25, 2014, 7:24 AM ET (1224 GMT)
The president of commercial launch provider Sea Launch will leave the company at the end of this month, the company announced Monday. Kjell Karlsen, who joined the company in 1999 and had been president of Sea Launch since 2008, will leave the company at the end of the month to "pursue other opportunities outside space industry," according to a company statement. The company, which launches commercial satellites from a floating platform on the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, had struggled in recent years, going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy organization in 2009-2010 and suffering a launch failure a year ago. Once a multinational venture involving stakes by companies in four countries, Sea Launch is now almost entirely owned by RSC Energia, and last week Russian officials said they were considering nationalizing the company.

Related Links:

•  Space News article about Karlsen departure
•  Space News article about Russian government interest in Sea Launch
•  Sea Launch press release