Artistic rendition of Globalstar satellite
The deployment of the constellation is expected to afford the Company up to a five-year competitive advantage over its primary mobile satellite services (MSS) competitor, which still has not yet named a manufacturer for its 2G satellites. Globalstar began the planning phase for its new constellation in 2005, more than five years ago, and the Company signed an agreement with satellite manufacturer Alcatel Alenia Space (now Thales Alenia Space) in 2006. Since then Globalstar has overcome operational challenges and completed many significant milestones, including a 2009 $738 million financing, in order to be in a position to make today's announcement.
The first 90-day window to launch six Globalstar satellites will open on July 5, 2010. The launch of the new satellites is expected in the September or early October timeframe, with the actual launch date to be announced in the upcoming months. The satellites will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan using the highly reliable Soyuz launch vehicle. Globalstar expects to conduct four launches of six satellites each using the Soyuz, which has been used to successfully launch Globalstar satellites on eight previous occasions. The 24 new satellites will be integrated with the eight 1G satellites that were launched in 2007.