HUGHES WILL build 12 satellites for the Inmarsat P global mobile-telephone system in a $1.3 billion deal agreed on 20 July. Terms of the agreement, which includes Hughes becoming a strategic partner in the Inmarsat P, will be completed later this year.
The satellites, equipped with C-band and S-band transponders to support 4,500 simultaneous telephone calls, and provided with 6.3kW of power from its solar arrays, will be based on the HS-601 spacecraft bus.
Orders for the HS-601 now number 56, making it the world's most-purchased satellite model. The agreement is also the largest commercial satellite contract in Hughes' history.
The first Inmarsat P satellite will be launched in 1998, and initial services will begin in 1999 with six operational satellites. The full system requires ten operational and two spare satellites.
Source: Flight International