Lockheed Martin won a satellite manufacturing contract with European satellite operator Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB). With satellite contracts likely to be at a premium this year, Lockheed will be delighted to have this deal under its belt. The company was chosen to design and manufacture the Sirius- 4 satellite. The bird will be a multi- mission Ku/Ka-band satellite with a minimum service life of 15 years. It is likely to be launched in the first half of 2007. Sirius-4 will initially provide replacement capacity for NSAB’s Sirius-2 and Sirius-3 satellites in the Nordic and Baltic markets, as well as enhance coverage in Eastern Europe.

NSAB is 75 percent owned by SES Global and 25 percent by Swedish Space Corporation. Ted Gavrilis, president of Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, commented, “We are extremely gratified that yet another operator within the SES Global Group has turned to Lockheed Martin to provide a powerful, reliable satellite designed to fulfill all mission requirements.”