Lockheed Martin and Astrium-led joint ventures have submitted their bids for a potential $1 billion UK Ministry of Defence contract to operate a fleet of Skynet 5 secure communications satellites, for use by the UK's armed forces and government. The prime contract is to be awarded early next year. Meanwhile, the Astrium-built Skynet 4F military communications satellite, launched in January, has reached a stable station at 5íE in geostationary orbit after a long drifting mode.
Source: Flight International