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ICO North America Taps ILS Atlas V to Launch Its GEO Satellite in 2007 |
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RESTON, Va., March 17, 2006/Satnews Daily/ — ICO North America (ICO) announced on Thursday that it has signed an agreement to launch its geostationary satellite on an Atlas V rocket provided by International Launch Services (ILS). The Atlas V is manufactured by Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), which is a partner in the ILS joint venture.
ICO's satellite launch, scheduled for a period beginning May 31, 2007, will be performed from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida using the Atlas V-421.
“We are extremely pleased to place our
next-generation Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) satellite on top of the
world's most dependable launch vehicle,” said Tim Bryan, chief executive
officer of ICO North America. “We chose ILS for its commitment to meet
our
Mark Albrecht, president of ILS, said he is pleased to see ICO's continued confidence in the performance standards of ILS and Atlas. He said the Atlas launch vehicles have an impressive record of 78 consecutive successes, which continues to attract commercial customers that seek outstanding performance, reliability and schedule assurance.
ICO North America's Hybrid Satellite/Terrestrial MSS system is scheduled to be operational in July of 2007. ICO's satellite is being built by Space Systems/Loral (Loral). Loral and ICO North America have completed certification of all applicable FCC milestones to date.
In August 2005, ICO North America raised $650 million in privately placed debt to fund its advanced hybrid 2 GHz MSS system. The company plans to offer advanced wireless voice, data and internet services in North America, using handsets similar to existing cellular phones. The company's technology and service offering adds redundancy to existing terrestrial networks, positioning ICO to uniquely address growing national security and public safety needs. ICO North America, Inc., is a subsidiary of ICO Global Communications (Holdings), also headquartered in Reston.
Recent Stories: David Zufall Named Senior Vice President for Network Systems of ICO Global and ICO North America J. Timothy Bryan Named Chief Executive Officer of ICO Global and ICO North America |
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