Seagoing space-rocket company Sea Launch has given up on attempts to boost a communications satellite into orbit from the mid-Pacific, blaming unusual ocean currents possibly related to the "La Nina" phenomenon.
Sea Launch uses a self-propelled ocean going platform to move its launch rockets into position on the Equator, thus gaining extra velocity from the rotation of the Earth. The company had planned to launch a mobile voice-and-data satellite for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company on 14 November.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/30/space_lauch_la_nina_problem/