Space Systems/Loral Selected to Build PanAmSat’s Galaxy 18 Satellite
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L)
today announced that it has been selected by PanAmSat Corporation, Wilton,
Conn., to build Galaxy 18, a new Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) satellite that
will deliver 10 kilowatts of power over a 15-year lifetime.
“We are pleased to once again be selected by PanAmSat to build an
important piece of its global network,” said Patrick DeWitt, president, Space
Systems/Loral. “Because of SS/L’s cost-effective integration of advanced
satellite features with high performance, space-proven technology, PanAmSat
will be able to deliver highly competitive and reliable services to their
customers.”
The satellite’s hybrid communications payload will carry a total of 48
operating transponders, including 24 high-power Ku-band and 24 C-band
transponders. The satellite is designed to operate from PanAmSat’s 123 degrees
West orbital location. The contract is subject to standard bankruptcy court
approval.
When delivered in 2007, Galaxy 18 will become PanAmSat’s newest satellite
covering the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, in
addition to Canada and Mexico, and will be the fifth spacecraft built for
PanAmSat by SS/L. Galaxy 16 is also under construction at SS/L’s facility in
Palo Alto, California and is planned for delivery in 2006.
The satellite is based on SS/L’s flight-proven, 1300, geostationary
satellite platform, which has a long and proven record of reliable operation.
Currently, there are 48 SS/L 1300 satellites on orbit, performing a variety of
critical communications functions.
Through its owned and operated fleet of 23 satellites, PanAmSat is a
leading global provider of video, broadcasting and network distribution and
delivery services. In total, the company’s in-orbit fleet is capable of
reaching over 98 percent of the world’s population through cable television
systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service
providers and telecommunications companies. In addition, PanAmSat supports the
largest concentration of satellite-based business networks in the U.S., as
well as specialized communications services in remote areas throughout the
world. For more information, visit the company’s web site at
http://www.panamsat.com.
Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, 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, defense
communications, environmental monitoring, and air traffic control. SS/L
satellites have amassed more than 1,100 years of reliable on-orbit service.
SS/L is ISO 9001:2000 certified. For more information, visit
http://www.ssloral.com.
Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. In
addition to Space Systems/Loral, through its Skynet subsidiary Loral owns and
operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites used to broadcast video
entertainment programming, and for broadband data transmission, Internet
services and other value-added communications services. For more information,
visit Loral’s web site at http://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. These factors include
those related to the filing, on July 15, 2003 by Loral and certain of its
subsidiaries, of voluntary petitions for reorganization under chapter 11 of
title 11 of the United States Code in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York and parallel insolvency proceedings in the
Supreme Court of Bermuda in which certain partners of KPMG were appointed as
joint provisional liquidators. Additional factors and conditions are also
described in the section of the company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, entitled “Commitments and Contingencies,”
and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The reader is specifically referred to these documents.
