2/8/99 article. Globalstar Gears Up For Launch While SS/L Moves Ahead With 20.20 Vision
satellitetoday.com
Monday, Feb 8
by Amy Hellickson
If there is one thing Bernard Schwartz knows for sure about the market
for global mobile satellite services, it's that there is room for everybody.
With Globalstar LP's [GSTRF] Soyuz launch set for Feb. 9 to boost four
birds into low-Earth-orbit, Schwartz, the CEO of Loral Space and
Communications [LOR] said at a SATELLITE 99 news conference
yesterday (2/5) that he's confident the high demand for satellite service will
be driven by the market once that service is up and running.
"If you add the total capacity of Iridium, ICO, Globalstar and others, and
you add in the total capacity available [for mobile satellite services], it will
only add up to be a fraction of the demand that's out there," he said.
Schwartz said in order for Globalstar to meet the demands of its projected
7.5 million subscribers in the first generation of service, scheduled to start
Oct. 1, Globalstar is focusing on getting handsets to customers and
providing a low-cost service.
Schwartz also responded to a question regarding whether he had placed a
call on arch-rival Iridium LLC's [IRIDF] system. With tongue in cheek,
Schwartz said he had not but would love to if someone gave him a phone.
That response prompted Loral president and chief operating officer Greg
Clark to chime in: "We can't afford the handset."
Globalstar plans to have 32 birds operational to complete its constellation
and 48 birds flying by its service launch date. Schwartz said that handset
manufacturers Qualcomm [QCOM], Ericsson [ERICY] and Telital are
ahead of schedule and will produce between 10,000 to 15,000 phones per
week, then ramp up to an output of 40,000 by December. Schwartz said
Globalstar will continue financing the project at $200 million per quarter.
However, fear of another launch failure has led the company to factor in
the use of the Delta and Ariane rockets. The company lost the one that
claimed 12 Globalstar birds in September when the Zenit rocket exploded.
"Launching is a risky business, and we've factored in enough redundencies
that if we don't use the [Soyuz], we can still meet schedule using only the
Ariane and Delta and not be dependant on any one rocket," Schwartz
said.
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) is also moving ahead with its approximate
$100 million development of the 20.20 commercial communications
satellite platform — a satellite that will be twice the size of existing birds
and 25 percent more expensive. The company is currently in discussion
with three potential customers, including subsidiary Loral Skynet, said
Robert Berry, president of SS/L.
With a target delivery date in first quarter 2002 and a shelf life of 15 years,
Berry said the 20.20 will offer the lowest cost on a per-transponder basis
due to its ability to deliver up to 25 kilowatts of total satellite power and
carry more than 150 transponders. The 20.20 will be completely financed
internally by SS/L, Berry said.
Amy Hellickson is assistant editor of Mobile Satellite News. |
