Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS) has announced the award of a contract to build three A2100 geosynchronous satellites for GE American Communications, Inc. (GE Americom). The next generation cable television satellites, designated GE-10, GE-11, and GE-18, will provide distribution of premium cable programming across North America.

An artist's concept of the new GE satellites. Photo: LMCSS

"We are extremely pleased that GE Americom has selected Lockheed Martin to provide three more A2100 communications satellites to replace the Lockheed Martin-built Satcom C-3 and Satcom C-4 satellites," said Ted Gavrilis, president, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems. "Our flight-proven A2100 satellite combined with GE Americom's operational excellence has provided a powerful, dependable solution for telecommunications customers worldwide. We look forward to continuing our 25-year relationship with GE Americom as the company joins forces with SES to jointly create a global organization and transitions their customers to the next generation premium cable neighborhoods."

All three spacecraft will carry twenty-four, 36 MHz C-band transponders and be used to provide cable television services to the 50 United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. GE-10 will take the place of GE Satcom C-4 and GE-11 will replace GE Satcom C-3, which currently operate from their orbital locations at 135 degrees West and 131 degrees West Longitude, respectively. GE-18 is being developed as a ground spare that could operate from either 131 or 135 degrees West Longitude. The satellites will expand GE Americom's global fleet of satellites, which provide global distribution of cable, broadcast television and radio, telecommunications services, business television and broadband data.

John F. Connelly, Chairman and CEO, GE Americom said, "The satellites that we have just ordered from Lockheed are critical to the future of our premier cable neighborhood at 131 and 135 degrees West. These next generation spacecraft will feature more power and redundancy than their predecessors; essential to our committed cable customers, Viacom, Court TV, C-SPAN, InDemand, Lifetime Television and The Weather Channel. We have every confidence that these will be as robust and high performing as the other eight A2100 spacecraft providing service in our fleet today."

Paul Heimbach, Senior Vice President/Chief Technology Officer, Viacom Inc. commented, "We are remaining with GE Americom because they have a proven track record of launching and operating reliable and robust satellite systems. Also, because GE-10 and GE-11 are located at the same orbital position as C-3 and C-4, the transition to GE-10 and GE-11 will be virtually seamless for our distributors." He continued, "The combination of Lockheed Martin's powerful A2100 spacecraft and GE Americom's flexibility and willingness to meet and even exceed our requirements will enhance the ability of our cable networks to continue to introduce new and advanced digital services and applications such as high definition television, subscription video on demand, streaming media and interactive TV."

The new satellites will be the ninth, tenth and eleventh A2100 series spacecraft designed and built for GE Americom by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems. The A2100 geosynchronous spacecraft is designed to meet a wide variety of telecommunications needs ranging from Ka band/Broadband services, fixed satellite services in a hybrid Ku- and C-band payload configuration, to high-power direct broadcast services using the Ku-band frequency spectrum. The A2100's modular design features a reduction in parts, simplifying construction, increasing on-orbit reliability and reducing weight and cost. The A2100 bus is produced entirely from composite materials.

With over 25 years' experience, GE American Communications, Inc. is recognized as a pioneer and leading provider of global satellite communications solutions. GE Americom is able to provide end-to-end telecommunications solutions to any region in the world through a fleet of 20 satellites. GE Americom's key customers include ABC Radio Networks, AT&T Alascom, British Telecom, Cidera, Deutsche Welle, Discovery, Disney, Gannett, ICG, Merlin, NBC, The New York Times, NHK, PaxNet, PBS, TELE Greenland, TV Europa, Viacom and TimeWarner/Turner Broadcasting.

On March 28, 2001, GE Capital announced with Société Européenne des Satellites, that they plan to combine the assets of GE Americom and SES ASTRA to form a new premier global satellite company, SES Global. The new company will have a fleet of 29 satellites and be able to deliver broadband satellites services to more than 90% of the world's population. In addition, SES Global's strategic partnerships and participations in AsiaSat, NSAB, Star One, Americom Asia-Pacific and Nahuelsat will combine to give entertainment, Internet, news and enterprise customers access to a fleet of 42 satellites. When the transaction is finalized, GE Capital will hold a 25.1% economic interest and 20.1% voting interest in SES Global S.A.

Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems markets, designs and builds geostationary and non-geostationary telecommunications and remote sensing satellites for customers worldwide. LMCSS is an operating unit of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, one of the core business areas of the Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT). Lockheed Martin has a 41-year heritage of building reliable spacecraft for commercial and military customers, having launched more than 875 spacecraft and clocking nearly 1,500 years of on-orbit performance experience.