Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems has received an order to build a second A2100 satellite for the Asia Cellular Satellite Systems (ACeS) company. The US concern has also landed a deal with GE Americom to build four satellites.
Lockheed Martin is a member of the ACeS consortium, which owns Garuda craft that can provide L-Band mobile telephone services to up to 70% of the world's population from geostationary earth orbit. The Garuda 2 will initially be a spare for Garuda 1. Eventually the satellite will be used to extend services to central Asia, Eastern Europe and North Africa.
The agreement with GE Americom will see four Lockheed Martin A1200 buses built. The first is due for launch next year. The communication satellites will be called GE Americom 6, 7, 8 and 9.
In another development involving Lockheed Martin, Russia's Intersputnik has signed a major contract, to lease eight Ku-band transponders for digital television broadcasting over Russia, in an agreement that spans the 15-year operating lifetime of the Lockheed Martin Intersputnik LMI-1 communications satellite.
The LMI-1 is due for launch in the third quarter of this year, aboard the first uprated International Launch Services Proton-Breeze booster. LMI-1 is the first of four planned satellites to provide services to the CIS, eastern and central Europe, Asia and Africa, for the LMI organisation, which was established in June 1997.
Source: Flight International
