Actually, it is Rocket Science

The Sea Launch Commander is in the dry  dock in North Vancouver – it’s quite a sight sitting up there just below Esplanade.

Sea Launch puts communications satellites up in orbit by launching them from a converted deep sea oil drilling platform.

According to the Sea Launch website, the Sea Launch Commander is an ACS:

The Assembly and Command Ship—or ACS—is an all-new, specially designed vessel that serves as a floating rocket assembly factory while in port, provides crew and customer accommodations and also houses mission control facilities for launches at sea.

When it’s at work, the Sea Launch Commander has up to 240 crew members, customers and VIP’s aboard.  It’s got a cruising range of 18,000 nautical miles.