Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) said it completed design reviews of Terrestar Networks Inc.‘s geostationary satellite, TerreStar-1, and has entered the construction phase of the Mobile Satellite Services program. The satellite, along with an ancillary terrestrial component, will provide next-generation 2 GHz mobile voice and data communications, monitoring and messaging services throughout the United States. SS/L is scheduled to deliver the satellite to Terrestar in 2007. The satellite will have a service life of 15 years and will carry what SS/L described as “a state-of-the-art” payload with a large unfurlable reflector. The satellite is based on SS/L’s 1300 platform. The monetary value of the satellite was not disclosed.

“We have been working with SS/L throughout the last several years and are excited to reach this important milestone,” Wharton Rivers Jr., president and CEO of Terrestar, said in a prepared statement. “We are confident that this is the partnership that will deliver us through construction to launch of the Terrestar satellite system.”