Space Systems/Loral Awarded $103 Million Contract to Build Critical Power Systems for the International Space Station
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space &
Communications, today announced that it has won a contract
from Boeing NASA Systems, Houston, Texas, to build 40 replacement
batteries for the U.S. photovoltaic, or power-producing, module of the
International Space Station (ISS). These replacement units will be
used as spares or to replace older ISS batteries currently on orbit.
“SS/L has been a key contractor to Boeing for a variety of ISS
related projects over the past two decades, and we are very pleased to
be continuing that work at this critical time in the development of
the International Space Station,” said C. Patrick DeWitt, president of
Space Systems/Loral.
The seven-year contract with Boeing NASA Systems calls for the
delivery of 40 battery Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs), in addition
to the 21 ISS battery ORUs that SS/L is currently on contract to
deliver to Boeing over the next two years.
SS/L’s advanced nickel-hydrogen batteries are used to store
electrical energy for use during the 16 solar eclipse periods that the
ISS encounters during its daily orbits around the earth.
Since 1994, SS/L has manufactured more than 50 batteries for the
final on-orbit configuration of the Space Station. SS/L’s first
batteries were carried to the Space Station on November 30, 2000,
aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor.
Space Systems/Loral is a premier designer, manufacturer, and
integrator of powerful satellites and satellite systems. SS/L also
provides a range of related services that include mission control
operations and procurement of launch services. Based in Palo Alto,
Calif., the company has an international base of commercial and
governmental customers whose applications include broadband digital
communications, direct-to-home broadcast, governmental communications,
environmental monitoring, and air traffic control. SS/L is ISO
9001:2000 certified. For more information, visit www.ssloral.com.
Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications
company. Through its Skynet subsidiary, it owns and operates a global
fleet of telecommunications satellites used by television and cable
networks to broadcast video entertainment programming, and by
communication service providers, resellers, corporate and government
customers for broadband data transmission, Internet services and other
value-added communications services. Loral also is a world-class
leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite
systems through its Space Systems/Loral subsidiary. For more
information, visit Loral’s web site at www.loral.com.
This document contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In
addition, Loral Space & Communications Ltd. or its representatives
have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in
writing, which may be included in, but are not limited to, various
filings made by the company with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, press releases or oral statements made with the approval
of an authorized executive officer of the company. Actual results
could differ materially from those projected or suggested in any
forward-looking statements as a result of a wide variety of factors
and conditions, which have been described in the section of the
company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2002, entitled “Certain Factors That May Affect Future
Results,” and the company’s other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The reader is specifically referred to these
documents.
