spacetoday.net: Soyuz launches four Globalstar satellites

Posted: Wed, May 30, 2007, 7:58 AM ET (1158 GMT)
Soyuz launch of Amos 2 satellite (Arianespace)

A Soyuz rocket placed four Globalstar replacement satellites into low Earth orbit early Wednesday. The Soyuz-Fregat lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:31 pm EDT Tuesday (2031 GMT Tuesday, 2:31 am local time Wednesday), deploying the four identical satellites into orbit at an altitude of 920 kilometers. The satellites are spares that were manufactured at the same time as the original constellation, launched between 1998 and 2000, but were placed in ground storage until now. The satellites will augment the existing constellation, some of whose satellites have suffered from degrading performance in the S-band amplifiers, reducing their effectiveness. A second launch of four spare satellites is planned for this summer. A second generation of Globalstar satellites is under development by Thales Alenia Space, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009.