COMSAT Laboratories has been awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin Corporation to provide an in-orbit testing system for a new regional mobile satellite. The satellite, Garuda-1, will provide mobile telephone communications for the Asian region, covering a population of three billion people.
The in-orbit testing (IOT) system supplied by COMSAT Labs will provide
quick, accurate and detailed testing of the satellite before the overall
telecommunications system is tested and placed into commercial service.
Additionally, the IOT system can be used for anomaly investigation once the
satellite is operational, which contributes to system performance over the
life of the spacecraft.
The satellite is being provided as part of a turnkey system for the Asia
Cellular Satellite System (ACeS), a communications partnership among Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, and is planned for launch in second quarter 1999.
"COMSAT Laboratories' in-orbit testing system helps insure that a
satellite goes into service as quickly as possible after it is successfully
launched," said Dr. Benjamin A. Pontano, President of COMSAT Laboratories.
"We're proud to be such an important component of ACeS, which will ultimately bring the benefits of personal communications via geosynchronous satellite to millions of people in Asia.
"The growth of telecommunications continues at a significant pace in all
areas of the world," continued Dr. Pontano. "COMSAT Laboratories offers a
unique set of skills to our customers based on the extensive development in
measurement technologies performed over the past thirty years."
