MILPITAS, Calif., Aug. 9, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq:GSAT), a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services to businesses, government, and consumers, today announced it has taken delivery of the first three second-generation satellites from manufacturer Thales Alenia Space. Globalstar officials authorized acceptance of the new satellites at the Thales Alenia Space satellite manufacturing facility in Rome. The three new satellites will be immediately shipped to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. There, combined with three additional satellites to be delivered later this month, they will undergo preparations and testing for an October launch using the highly reliable Soyuz launch vehicle.
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"Today's satellite delivery represents another tremendous milestone achievement and is the culmination of more than five years of planning and work by Globalstar and our satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space," said Tony Navarra, President, Global Operations for Globalstar, Inc. "Delivery of these satellites would not have been possible without the diligent efforts of all our technical, financing and insurance partners. I would also like to specifically acknowledge the tireless work and commitment of all of our highly skilled employees around the world, as well as those at Thales Alenia Space and Arianespace, who helped make today's announcement a reality.
"Once our new constellation is fully deployed we will once again reliably provide the world's finest quality mobile satellite voice and fastest mobile satellite data services to commercial and government customers in more than 120 countries. Combined with our affordable and award-winning suite of consumer retail SPOT products we will be uniquely positioned to offer the world's most extensive lineup of high quality mobile satellite services to the broadest range of customers around the globe."
"The delivery of the first satellites in the constellation is a major milestone for both Thales Alenia Space and our customer Globalstar," said Emmanuel Grave, head of telecommunications at Thales Alenia Space. "It reflects the close relationship that all our teams have developed throughout this program. With the delivery of the next three satellites at the end of August, and the launch of the first batch in the fall, Globalstar Second Generation will be entering service. We are very proud of our work on this program, and delighted to be able to ensure the satisfaction of our customer Globalstar."
A total of four launches carrying six satellites each will be conducted by launch services provider Arianespace using the Soyuz which has been used to successfully launch Globalstar satellites on eight previous occasions. The 24 new second-generation satellites will be integrated with the eight first-generation satellites that were launched in 2007. The new constellation secures Globalstar's space segment through beyond 2025.
Globalstar expects to be the first global mobile satellite voice and data company to deliver and deploy a LEO second-generation satellite constellation. Once the new Globalstar satellites are in operational orbit, the most immediate impact will be on those customers who use the Company's voice and duplex data services. With each of the first four launches, these customers can expect a progressive return to the high reliability and service quality enjoyed before 2007.
New Products and Service Offerings
Once fully deployed the advanced second-generation constellation and next-generation ground network are designed to provide Globalstar customers with increased data speeds of up to 256 kbps in a flexible Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) configuration. Products and services supported are expected to include: push-to-talk and multicasting, advanced messaging capabilities such as multimedia messaging or MMS, mobile video, geo-location services, multi-band and multi-mode handsets, and data devices with GPS integration.
In 2006 Globalstar contracted Thales Alenia Space for the design, manufacture and delivery of its second-generation constellation low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The remaining satellites are now under construction at various Thales Alenia Space facilities in France and Italy. The payloads are built in Toulouse; the thermal subsystems and structures in Cannes; part of the side panels in Turin; several payload electronics units are developed and manufactured in L'Aquila; the L-band antennas are produced in Rome and the onboard computer (OBPE) and part of the GPS receiver in Milan. Thales Alenia Space is also responsible for launch support services. Each second-generation Globalstar satellite weighs approximately 700 kg, offers end-of-life power of 1.7 kW, is fitted with 16 transponders from C- to S-band, and 16 receivers from L- to C-band. Each satellite has a design life of 15 years.
About Globalstar, Inc.
With over 400,000 subscribers, Globalstar is the world's largest provider of mobile satellite voice and data services. Globalstar offers these services to commercial customers and recreational consumers in more than 120 countries around the world. The Company's products include mobile and fixed satellite telephones, simplex and duplex satellite data modems and flexible service packages. Many land based and maritime industries benefit from Globalstar with increased productivity from remote areas beyond cellular and landline service. Global customer segments include: oil and gas, government, mining, forestry, commercial fishing, utilities, military, transportation, heavy construction, emergency preparedness, and business continuity as well as individual recreational users. Globalstar data solutions are ideal for various asset and personal tracking, data monitoring and SCADA applications.
For more information regarding Globalstar, please visit the Globalstar website at www.globalstar.com.
Safe Harbor Language for Globalstar Releases
This press release contains certain statements such as, "Products and services supported are expected to include: push-to-talk and multicasting, advanced messaging capabilities such as multimedia messaging or MMS, mobile video, geo-location services, multi-band and multi-mode handsets, and data devices with GPS integration," that are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, such as the statements regarding our ability to develop and expand our business, our anticipated capital spending (including for future satellite procurements and launches), our ability to manage costs, our ability to exploit and respond to technological innovation, the effects of laws and regulations (including tax laws and regulations) and legal and regulatory changes, the opportunities for strategic business combinations and the effects of consolidation in our industry on us and our competitors, our anticipated future revenues, our anticipated financial resources, our expectations about the future operational performance of our satellites (including their projected operational lives), the expected strength of and growth prospects for our existing customers and the markets that we serve, commercial acceptance of our new Simplex products, including our SPOT satellite GPS messenger TM products, problems relating to the ground-based facilities operated by us or by independent gateway operators, worldwide economic, geopolitical and business conditions and risks associated with doing business on a global basis and other statements contained in this Report regarding matters that are not historical facts, involve predictions.
Any forward-looking statements made in this press release speak as of the date made and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results or developments may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, and we undertake no obligation to update any such statements. Additional information on factors that could influence our financial results is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K as amended by our Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 17, 2010, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.
