Guess working closely for 10 years must have made the next step a no-brainer when the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) and Universal Space Network (USN) reached an agreement in which SSC will acquire all the shares of U.S.-based USN. The two companies have been providing satellite owners with access to a cohesive network of ground stations that provide near-global coverage of any spacecraft orbit. PrioraNet, the trademarked name of this worldwide satellite tracking service, has successfully supported civil space, commercial and public missions since 1999.

"This further enhances our collective ability to provide satellite owners and operators with a one-stop shop for global telemetry, tracking, command and data services. With this integration of these two leading businesses, PrioraNet becomes the largest commercial service for satellite operations and communications," says Mr. Lars Persson, President and CEO of the Swedish Space Corporation.

Mr. Tom Ingersoll, CEO of Universal Space Network states, "USN was founded in 1996 by Apollo Astronaut Pete Conrad to make a fundamental change in the space industry through commercialization. Since that time USN has been both a catalyst and a pioneering agent in advancing commercial space communications and operations services in the U.S. This is an opportunity for us and SSC together to carry this vision to the global space community." Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., is the third astronaut to walk on the moon

"Throughout this process the primary focus has been on increasing the robustness of our current space communications services while expanding the breadth of commercially based mission critical space operations services to the space industry," remarks Joe Rothenberg, USN President and Customer Service Officer. "We believe that this integration will result in a higher quality of service that will continue to enable more efficient development and execution of innovative space programs," added Rothenberg.

SSC anticipates that the acquisition, which is still subject to U.S. regulatory approval, will be completed within 90 to 120 days of this press release. Upon closing, USN will operate as a U.S.-based subsidiary of SSC.