Posted: Thu, Feb 24, 2005, 8:54 AM ET (1354 GMT)
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) announced Wednesday that it has won a contract to build a communications satellite, as well as settling a dispute over another satellite. SS/L said that PanAmSat awarded the manufacturer a contract to build the Galaxy 18 satellite; terms of the deal were not disclosed. Galaxy 18 will be based on SS/L 1300-series spacecraft, with 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders. The satellite, planned for delivery in 2006, will be located at 123 degrees west; launch arrangements were not disclosed. In a separate statement, SS/L said it had reached a "favorable settlement" with Chinese satellite operator ChinaSat regarding the ChinaSat 8 spacecraft. SS/L has been unable to export the satellite to China for launch on a Long March vehicle because of a lack of an export license. SS/L said it will continue to see an export license, although ChinaSat is free to assign the satellite to another company "under certain circumstances."
