Globalstar, the world’s most popular handheld satellite phone service, has awarded a contract to Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for the design and future construction of its 2 gigahertz (GHz) satellite system, which will provide greater capacity and enhanced Globalstar services when the new constellation is fully deployed toward the end of this decade.
In July 2001 the Federal Communications Commission granted Globalstar’s 1997 application to use the newly available 2 GHz mobile satellite radio spectrum. The new contract announced today fulfills the FCC requirement that Globalstar enter into a construction contract for new satellites to use this spectrum by July 17, 2002.
The contract calls for a new constellation of 56 low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, supplemented with four geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites which would provide additional system capacity, particularly for data applications, along with coverage to remote areas not easily served by Globalstar’s LEO satellites.
With the signing of this contract, work will begin immediately on planning and designing the new satellites. The contract with SS/L, which also was responsible for the design and construction of the original Globalstar satellite constellation, calls for all 60 satellites to be delivered to Globalstar on orbit starting in 2006.
