13 January 2002
Satcoms
Globecomm Systems Wins Five Contracts With Value of Over US$ 3.2
Million
Military
Space
USAF Accepts New
Missile Warning Control Station From Lockheed Martin
Science
Mars Odyssey Aerobraking Complete
Business
Com Dev Signs Long Term Supply Agreement With Boeing
Corporate
Reorganisation at Tandberg Television
Loral and US Government Settle China Technology Transfer
Case
Motient to
Restructure Finances Under Chapter 11
Motorola Ordered by Court to Pay US$ 300 Million in
Iridium Loan Guarantees
ViaSat Announces US$ 29 Million Common Stock
Offering
Products and Services
Comsat Mobile Communications Launches Mobile Packet Data
Service
People
Eric Stallmer Joins Analytical Graphics
Sirius Adds to Sales and Marketing
Team
Globecomm Systems Wins Five Contracts With Value of Over
US$ 3.2 Million
Globecomm Systems Inc has been awarded five contracts
to provide satellite earth station infrastructure equipment and development for
customers in Hong Kong, Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom and the
United Arab Emirates.
Highlights of the contracts
include the following:
Hong Kong: In a contract valued at
approximately US$ 640,000, one of the Asia Pacific region's leading multimedia
entertainment providers has enlisted Globecomm to provide and install RF
equipment and a monitoring and control (M&C) system for the customer's
satellite earth station. This new installation will enhance the customer's
video uplink capabilities, and enable them to expand their business
opportunities. This project should be completed by May 2002.
Brazil:
In a contract valued at approximately US$ 660,000, Globecomm will provide
support equipment and redundant hardware to enable one of the world's leading
satellite network solutions providers to improve system availability and
network reliability in South America. This contract is an add-on to a previous
Globecomm contract.
United States: In a contract valued at
approximately US$ 570,000, Globecomm will provide earth station equipment to
the world's leading satellite network solutions provider. The new earth station
equipment will expand current shared hub services, which will allow a greater
coverage area in North America. The equipment is expected to be operational by
April 2002.
United Kingdom: Globecomm has been awarded a contract
valued at approximately US$ 492,000 to provide hub station equipment and three
remote earth stations to a leading global supplier of defence systems and
information technology services. The hub will be located in the United Kingdom
and the remote earth stations will be distributed throughout Africa. This
system will provide a private corporate network that will enhance the overall
effectiveness of the customer's corporation. The system is expected to be
operational by May 2002.
United Arab Emirates: A large information
technology and telecommunications centre has signed a contract valued at
approximately US$ 860,000 with Globecomm to provide a complete satellite earth
station system. The new system will enable the client to offer tenant companies
within its business complex additional abilities to broadcast audio and video
content from the facility, via satellite, to regional television and radio
distribution points. Installation is expected to be completed by April
2002.
USAF Accepts New Missile Warning Control Station From Lockheed
Martin
The United States Air Force has declared Initial
Operational Capability (IOC) for the new ground control station that operates
the USA's network of satellites used to detect and track missile launches
around the world. The Mission Control Station (MCS) is the first major phase to
be fielded of the three increments in the US Air Force's Space-Based Infrared
System (SBIRS), an important element of the country's missile defence
system.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Northrop
Grumman developed the MCS. It consolidates three legacy ground stations into
one SBIRS ground station and provides additional capabilities to improve
support to the operators. The MCS establishes the foundation for both the SBIRS
High and Low satellite constellations, which when deployed, will notify the
National Command Authority of missile launches twice as fast as the current
Defense Support Program (DSP) system.
Leading up to the Initial
Operational Capability, the two companies collaborated with the Air Force on
writing and certifying the hardware and software that conduct the primary
mission of missile warning in one control station with at least equal or better
performance than the previous system. The companies also trained the military
personnel who operate the system, and will be installing a back-up control
station in an alternate location. In June 2001, the Mission Control Station
entered an evaluation period and began performing primary command and control
operations for the DSP satellites.
The SBIRS program will provide the
USA with new worldwide missile detection and tracking capabilities. It is an
integrated "system of systems" with multiple space components and an evolving
ground element. This delivery consolidates functions of three legacy DSP ground
stations into one and provides an open architecture to accommodate SBIRS High
and Low components as they are fielded. SBIRS High will add four satellites in
geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) and two sensors in highly elliptical orbit
(HEO). SBIRS Low will add 20-to-30 satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) to
provide mid-course missile tracking.
Mars Odyssey Aerobraking Complete
Flight controllers for NASA's
Mars Odyssey spacecraft have sent commands to raise the spacecraft up out of
the Martian atmosphere and conclude the aerobraking phase of the mission.
On January 11, Odyssey fired its small thrusters for 244
seconds, changing its speed by 20 m/s and raising its orbit by 85 km. The
lowest point in Odyssey's orbit is now 201 km above the surface of Mars. The
farthest point in the orbit is at an altitude of 500 km. During the next few
weeks, flight controllers will refine the orbit until the spacecraft reaches
its final mapping altitude, a 400-km circular orbit.
During the
aerobraking phase, Odyssey skimmed through the upper reaches of the Martian
atmosphere 332 times. By using the atmosphere of Mars to slow down the
spacecraft in its orbit rather than firing its engine or thrusters, Odyssey was
able to save more than 200 kg of propellant. This reduction in spacecraft
weight enabled the mission to be launched on a Delta II 7925 launch vehicle,
rather than a larger, more expensive launcher.
Com Dev Signs Long Term Supply Agreement With Boeing
Com Dev
Space has signed a Long Term Supply Agreement (LTA) with Boeing Satellite
Systems, to supply waveguide switches. The three-year agreement is expected to
provide Com Dev with up to Cdn$ 6.8 million (US$ 4.5 million) of new business
per year. An initial order of Cdn$ 1.2 million (US$ 759,900) has been awarded
to support the engineering and initial production phase.
This LTA will result in further orders as Boeing wins additional business. Com
Dev Space manufactures advanced products that are sold to the major satellite
prime contractors for use in commercial communications and earth science
satellites.
Corporate Reorganisation at Tandberg Television
Tandberg Television has announced the reorganisation
of its corporate structure and operations. The changes are designed to enable
the company to build on its strong digital broadcasting industry position,
respond faster to market dynamics and maximise shareholder value.
The company is making its Southampton, UK site its global
management centre. The critical mass of Tandberg Television's administration,
customer support, R&D, manufacturing and sales and marketing resources are
already based in the UK, and the facility will continue to perform all of these
duties, as well as having increased responsibility for supporting the corporate
business and the regional sales offices in the Americas, Asia Pacific and
Europe. Tandberg Television's operations in Norway will serve as a strategic
technology development centre, leveraging the skills and expertise of the
Norwegian R&D team, especially in growing market sectors such as broadband
and cable. In addition, Norway will continue to be an important sales office
serving both the Nordic market and specific European countries.
Gwyn
Pugh, Chief Operating Officer for the last 18 months, has been appointed as
Tandberg Television's new President and CEO, and will be based in the UK. He
replaces Joergen Bredesen, who is leaving the company.
Tandberg
Television is also replacing Gunnar Gjortz, its current CFO, who is leaving the
company. Tim O'Connor will take the role of acting CFO.
Restructuring
costs and revaluation of certain assets due to the reorganisation will be
charged to the 2001 accounts in the amount of MNOK 50. The negative cash effect
of these charges is expected to be MNOK 20. The cash balance stands at MNOK
280. The equity ratio as of 31.12.2001 including the one-time charges is
expected to be 70 %.
Loral and US Government Settle China Technology Transfer
Case
Loral Space & Communications has reached a
settlement with the US government in a case relating to the company's
involvement in a review of a Chinese rocket launch failure in 1996.
Loral had been under investigation since 1997 when Loral
allegedly sent a report on the failure in 1996 of a Long March launch vehicle
to a Chinese company associated with the Chinese government. Loral has always
maintained that the report was sent by mistake and did not contain information
which would compromise US national security. The report allegedly contained
information which was potentially useful in the improvement of the reliability
of the Long March launcher. Loral has now been informed that the Justice
Department has terminated this investigation of the company and has declined to
pursue the matter further.
Loral has agreed to pay a civil fine of US$
14 million to the State Department without admitting or denying the
government's charges. The cost of the fine will be reflected in Loral's 2001
fourth quarter results. Under the terms of the agreement the fine is to be paid
over seven years, without interest, resulting in a cash impact annually of
approximately US$ 2 million.
Loral also has strengthened its export
compliance program. The company's past and future compliance costs, as agreed
to with the government, will total at least US$ 6 million, US$ 2 million of
which has already been expensed.
Motient to Restructure Finances Under Chapter 11
Motient
Corporation has announced that holders of a majority of Motient's senior notes
have agreed in principle to the terms of a debt restructuring that will convert
Motient's senior notes to equity. The restructuring is subject to court
approval and other customary conditions.
If the restructuring is
completed as proposed, Motient will eliminate more than US$ 40 million in
annual interest payments, which Motient expects will enable it to reach EBITDA
break even in 2002, and to have sufficient cash to operate beyond its expected
cash positive date.
Holders representing over 50% of the principal
value of the senior notes have agreed in principle to vote in favour of the
proposed restructuring, under which the senior noteholders will exchange their
notes for new Motient stock. Under the proposed restructuring plan, existing
common shareholders will receive warrants with a nominal strike price to
purchase 5% of the new common stock in the reorganised company. The warrants
will be exercisable once the senior note holders have recovered 105% of the
face amount of their investment. The current equity holders would therefore be
able to participate in the upside potential of the core business as well as in
any potential appreciation due to Motient's carried interest in MSV.
The plan of reorganisation will require court approval. Motient has filed a
voluntary petition for reorganisation under Chapter 11 in the Eastern District
of Virginia. Because Motient has obtained the support of its senior
noteholders, who hold a substantial majority of Motient's existing debt,
Motient expects that the process of completing its debt restructuring will be
comparatively simple and of relatively limited duration. Motient hopes to
emerge from the restructuring by the spring of 2002.
During the
restructuring process, Motient expects to continue to deliver uninterrupted
service on its nationwide wireless data network and to conduct day-to-day
business operations while supporting its employees, its over 250,000
subscribers, and its business partners.
Motorola Ordered by Court to Pay US$ 300 Million in Iridium Loan
Guarantees
Motorola has been ordered to pay a US$ 300 million
Iridium loan guarantee to Chase Manhattan Bank, along with other lenders by a
federal court. The court ruled that Iridium had deliberately misled Chase
Manhattan Bank about the company's finances and number of subscribers and, as a
consequence, Chase Manhattan Bank released Motorola from a US$ 300 million
guarantee on a US$ 800 million loan to Iridium.
The
court ruled that Iridium and Roy Grant, the company's Chief Financial Officer,
misrepresented Iridium's financial health and prospects to Chase Manhattan,
which was Iridium's main financial advisor.
In February, Iridium
certified that it had an adequate subscriber base and had sufficient finances.
Based on this statement Chase Manhattan and 17 other lenders released Motorola
from a US$ 300 million guarantee on a US$ 800 million loan made to Iridium in
December 1998. Iridium filed for bankruptcy court protection from its creditors
some eight months later.
Iridium had to achieve certain targets by 31
March 1999 to prevent US$ 2.8 billion in debt being called in early. These
targets included achieving US$ 30 million in cumulative sales and 52,000
subscribers. On February 8, at the time Iridium presented its performance
certificate to Chase Manhattan, it had cumulative sales of US$ 535,000 and just
over 6,000 subscribers. The court ruled that Iridium had no possibility of
achieving its targets six weeks later based on its previous performance.
Motorola was ordered to pay the US$ 300 million loan guarantee as well as
US$ 65 million in accrued interest.
Motorola intends to appeal against
the decision.
Motorola's woes do not end here. Chase Manhattan along
with the other 17 lenders have filed a complaint for the outstanding US$ 500
million of the US$ 800 million loan to Iridium. Furthermore, in July 2001,
Iridium LLC's unsecured creditors filed a lawsuit for US$ 4 billion in
damages.
Iridium itself has now gone on to a better future having
emerged from bankruptcy with a new owner and has been renamed as Iridium
Satellite Corp.
ViaSat Announces US$ 29 Million Common Stock Offering
ViaSat
Inc has priced a public offering of 2,000,000 shares of its common stock at a
price of US$ 14.50 per share in an underwritten public offering under its
existing US$ 75 million universal shelf registration statement. All of the
shares were offered by ViaSat.
SG Cowen Securities
Corporation acted as the sole underwriter for the common stock offering. ViaSat
has granted the underwriter an option to purchase 300,000 additional shares of
common stock to cover over-allotments.
ViaSat produces advanced
digital satellite telecommunications and wireless signal processing equipment
for commercial and government markets. ViaSat has a full line of VSAT products
for data and voice applications. ViaSat is a market leader in Ka band satellite
systems, from user terminals to large gateways for both geosynchronous and low
earth orbit systems. Other products include network security devices, tactical
data radios, and communication simulators.
Comsat Mobile Communications Launches Mobile Packet Data
Service
Comsat Mobile Communications (CMC) has launched Mobile
Packet Data Service (MPDS), an innovative and resource-efficient mobile
satellite data service.
MPDS provides remote users with
Internet protocol (IP) capability over satellite for portable and extremely
reliable communications for Internet applications such as Web access, file
transfer, and e-mail.
The service, the latest US domestic and global
communications offering from CMC, is expected to become a business
communications tool for customers in data-intensive industries such as energy,
mining, construction, engineering, transportation, and the government.
MPDS is the most recent offering via Inmarsat's Global Area Network (GAN), a
system that integrates the corporate information technology (IT) network with a
global mobile communications network. GAN offers customers the flexibility to
select the speed of ISDN service or the flexibility and cost-efficiency of
mobile packet data service.
Typical applications for MPDS include Web
access, file transfer, remote performance monitoring, and e-mail, while Mobile
ISDN is ideally suited for broadcast quality audio/voice, high volume data
transfer, e-commerce, and video teleconferencing.
Interactive Internet
data applications such as Web browsing and file transfer typically require
short bursts of data followed by idle time. Packet data technology enables
satellite resources to be shared, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing
costs. Customers who use CMC's new MPDS are charged for the data bursts they
use, regardless of the connection time allowing them to remain on-line.
Both Mobile ISDN and MPDS offerings use laptop-sized Inmarsat M4
terminals, some of the most portable, lightweight (as small as 4 kg) satellite
terminals available today. Mobile ISDN and MPDS and all CMC service offerings
are available both globally and domestically throughout the United
States.
Eric Stallmer Joins Analytical Graphics
Analytical Graphics Inc (AGI) has announced that Eric
W Stallmer has joined the company as Director of Government Relations. In this
newly created position, Stallmer will represent AGI's commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) products and technology to defence, intelligence, and civil government
sectors within the aerospace industry. He will be based in downtown Washington
DC.
Stallmer comes to AGI from The Space Transportation
Association (STA), a non-profit, industry trade organisation providing
government representation to companies with a vested interest in the US space
launch industry. With STA since 1995, he served as president during the past 18
months.
Before joining STA, Stallmer worked for Rep. Thomas Coburn and
at The Heritage Foundation in Washington DC. Prior to that, he served as a
logistics officer in the US Army. Receiving his commission from Fordham
University Army ROTC program, Stallmer earned a bachelor of arts in political
science from Mount Saint Mary College in New York and a master's in public
administration from George Mason University.
Sirius Adds to Sales and Marketing Team
Satellite radio broadcaster Sirius Satellite Radio has
announced a string of new additions to its team, adding consumer electronics
industry veterans across the company's sales and marketing organisation.
The three new executives joining Sirius total an approximate
75 years consumer electronics experience. As a group they have participated in
the rollout and success of numerous consumer electronics products, including
the development and launch of DirecTV satellite television, a product and
technology with many similarities to satellite radio.
New additions to
Sirius' sales and marketing team will collectively be responsible for sales,
marketing, distribution, merchandising and strategic planning for retail. The
group will report into Guy Johnson, Sirius' new Senior VP, Sales and
Marketing.
The new additions include:
Stanley Kozlowski, VP
Retail Marketing, a 20-year veteran of the consumer electronics industry who
has held senior management positions with RCA, General Electric and Thomson
multimedia. Mr Kozlowski's was instrumental in the deployment of the first
DirecTV system in 1994 while serving as Sales and Marketing Manager of Direct
Broadcast Satellite for Thomson multimedia. Kozlowski spearheaded RCA/Thomson's
highly successful DBS sales and marketing program for four years. Prior to
Thomson, Kozlowski was RCA National Marketing Manager calling on power
retailers such as Sears. Mr Kozlowski was the recent chairman of the SBCA
(Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association), the national trade
organisation representing the home satellite industry. Prior to joining Sirius,
he was formerly SVP of Sales & Marketing of the National Rural
Telecommunications Co-operative (NRTC).
Jeffrey Peace, VP, Western
Retail Sales. Formerly Vice President and General Manager of the Western Sales
Department for Thomson multimedia, Mr Peace has been working in the Consumer
Electronics Industry for more than 25 years with RCA, General Electric and
Thomson multimedia. He has participated in the launch of the VHS Video
Recorder, RCA/DirecTV Satellite system, and the introduction of RCA HDTV, and
other new digital technologies.
Russ Fyke, VP, Midwest Retail Sales.
Mr Fyke has been in consumer electronics sales for over 27 years with RCA,
General Electric and Thomson multimedia. During that time, he has held various
positions including Area Sales Manager, Region Sales Manager, Region Branch
Manager and National Account Manager - Wal-Mart, all in the Midwest region.
Sirius also announced that Tom Steckbeck, Sirius' VP Retail Marketing and
Distribution, will take on an expanded role and serve as VP, Eastern Retail
Sales and National Accounts. Mr Steckbeck has been with Sirius for three years
forging relationships with distribution partners and managing the marketing,
merchandising and sales of the Sirius service through retail and special
markets channels. Prior to joining Sirius, Mr. Steckbeck was with Panasonic's
mobile entertainment and information division where he was in charge of sales,
marketing, distribution, merchandising and strategic planning for Panasonic
mobile products.
