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News briefs: July 4-5
Posted: Sat, Jul 6, 2002, 8:38 AM ET (1238 GMT)
- Shares in XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio fell Friday after an analyst downgraded both companies. Marc Nabi of Merrill Lynch said that while he was confident of the long-term prospects of the digital satellite radio industry, both companies, Sirius in particular, faced major challenges in the near term. XM shares fell 7.6% while Sirius tumbled 16% during a shortened post-holiday trading day on Nasdaq.
- Arianespace won a contract from European satellite manufacturer Alenia Spazio to launch a communications satellite for Eutelsat later this year, Dow Jones reported Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- Russian experts have proposed a $20-billion plan to send people to Mars by 2015. The plan, announced Friday, would feature cooperation with Europe and the US to send six people to Mars in one crewed and one cargo spacecraft; three of the six would land while the other three remained in orbit. The plan was announced by researchers from several Russian institutes, and it is not clear if the plan has the backing of the Russian space agency Rosaviakosmos.
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