France-based satellite manufacturer Alcatel Space [ALA] wasted no time in following up on last week’s order announced by rival Boeing Satellite Systems with DirecTV by signing a major pact of its own for two spacecraft payload orders from Russian Satellite Communications Co. (RSCC). The deal calls for Alcatel to develop and deliver two payloads for the Russian Express AM33 and AM44 communications satellites. The payloads would be manufactured at Alcatel’s facility in Toulouse, France, and then integrated into Express satellite platforms by NPO-PM in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

The new orbiters would carry C-band, Ku-band and L-band transponders to provide a host of services, including digital TV and radio broadcasting, telephony, data transmission channels, videoconferencing services and Internet access. The satellites also will be available to provide very small aperture technology (VSAT) across Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) countries, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Upon delivery, Alcatel will have delivered 11 payloads to NPO-PM for Russian and European telecommunications programs, dating back to the mid-1990s.