Contracts

Arianespace Tapped To Launch Constellation Of 48 Satellites

Globalstar Inc. chose Arianespace to launch all 48 satellites in its second-generation constellation.

Jean-Yves Le Gall, chairman and CEO of Arianespace, and Jay Monroe, chairman and CEO of Globalstar Inc., announced the signing of a firm service and solutions contract for four launches, along with an option on four additional launches.

The first of the four firm launches is planned for summer 2009 by a Soyuz launcher operating from the Guiana Space Center, the European spaceport in French Guiana.

Soyuz will inject six Globalstar 2 satellites into circular orbit at an altitude of 920 kilometers, inclined at 52 degrees.

The Globalstar second generation constellation is designed to provide Globalstar customers with worldwide long-term satellite voice and data services.

Built by Thales Alenia Space, each Globalstar second-generation satellite will weigh about 700 kg at launch.

From February to November 1999, Arianespace subsidiary Starsem orbited 24 satellites in Globalstar’s current constellation and on May 30, 2007, Starsem successfully launched four replacement satellites. A second launch of four satellites is planned later this year.

ITT Captures $207 Million To $1.86 Billion FAA GPS Contract

ITT Corp. [ITT] received a $207 million initial contract from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for navigation improvements that may grow to as much as $1.86 billion with options.

The company will lead a team to develop and deploy the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system.

ADS-B is a key component of the FAA’s NextGen program intended to increase safety and efficiency to meet the growing needs of air transportation.

The initial contract runs for three years, with a contract value of $207 million. Under the contract, ITT will be responsible for overall system integration and engineering and under contract options will operate and maintain the system after deployment through September 2025.

The ITT team includes its AT&T, Thales North America, WSI, SAIC, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Aerospace Engineering, Sunhillo, Comsearch, MCS of Tampa, Pragmatics, Washington Consulting Group, Aviation Communications and Surveillance Systems (ACSS), Sandia Aerospace and NCR Corp.

The ITT team will work with the FAA to deploy a nationwide air traffic control surveillance network consisting of field radio sites, data processing centers, network operations centers, and equipment to enable delivery of surveillance data to air traffic control facilities.

That deployed ADS-B surveillance network will be designed to provide more accurate and rapidly updating position data using GPS to determine aircraft position. Other major benefits of the system include:

• A surveillance network that is more cost effective than today’s network of radar systems
• A potential future data link for delivery of safety information to aircraft cockpits
• A mechanism for future air-to-air exchange of position data which will dramatically enhance pilot situational awareness.

Other contenders included Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] and Raytheon Co. [RTN].