An artist's concept of the original MTSAT in space. The satellite was lost in a launch failure last November. Photo: Loral

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a Loral Space & Communications company, has announced that it has won a contract to build MTSAT-1R, an advanced multi-functional satellite for air traffic control and weather observation, for Japan's Ministry of Transport (MOT).

When delivered in 2002, the MTSAT-1R satellite will provide communications and navigational services for aircraft, and will gather weather data for users throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region -- as far south as Australia/New Zealand.

"We are proud to have earned once again the trust of MOT," said Dr. John Klineberg, president of SS/L. "This new assignment affords us the opportunity to show our continuing commitment to innovation and to providing our customer with the best possible state-of-the-art satellite solution."

SS/L is a significant provider of both environmental and telecommunications satellites for the Japanese market. The company has built 14 satellites for Japan, including the first two SUPERBIRD telecommunications satellites and two N-STAR communications satellites for Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT), one of the world's largest telephone companies.

All integration and ground testing of MTSAT-1R will be completed at SS/L's facilities in Palo Alto. The launch vehicle and the launch site have yet to be selected.

Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) will use MTSAT-1R to increase the efficiency of aircraft flight routes, provide flexible flight profile planning, enhance air travel safety, and improve the quality of aeronautical communications. To that end, it will be positioned at an orbital slot of 140 degrees East longitude, where it will provide high-quality digital voice and data communications in the L, Ku, and Ka bands.

The Japanese H-2 rocket lifts off in November on a doomed launch with MTSAT. Photo: NASDA

The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) will use MTSAT-IR to deliver observed data to a processing station and provide cloud imagery and continuous weather data from around the region, such as cloud and vapor distributions, cloud-motion wind vector, sea surface temperature, and information on typhoon, low pressure, and frontal activity. MTSAT-IR, which will be the successor to the GMS 1-5 satellite series, will also collect data from data collection platforms.

MTSAT-1R will be a version of SS/L's three-axis, body-stabilized 1300 bus. The 1300's modular design is flight-proven and has an excellent record of reliable operation. SS/L's 1300 buses are designed to achieve highly reliable and long useful orbital life - through use of a bipropellant propulsion system and a momentum-bias system for excellent station-keeping and orbital stability. Solar arrays and nickel-hydrogen batteries provide uninterrupted electrical power. In all, SS/L satellites have amassed a total of more than 700 years of successful operation orbit.

MTSAT-1R will use many of the state-of-the-art technologies developed for the current five-satellite U.S. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite program, called GOES I-M, for which SS/L is the prime contractor. The new spacecraft will provide 10 years of service in its aeronautical mission and five years in its meteorological mission.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) is a premier designer, manufacturer, and integrator of powerful geostationary (GEO) satellites and satellite systems. SS/L also provides a range of related services, including mission control operations and procurement of launch services. Based in Palo Alto, California, SS/L has an international list of commercial and governmental customers whose applications include broadband digital communications, wireless telephony, direct-to-home broadcast, video broadcasting, environmental monitoring, and air traffic control. SS/L is ISO 9001 certified.

Loral Space & Communications is a high technology company that concentrates primarily on satellite manufacturing and satellite-based services, including broadcast transponder leasing and value-added services, domestic and international corporate data networks, global wireless telephony, broadband data transmission and content services, Internet services, and international direct-to-home satellite services.