NEW YORK, 19 Oct. 2005. L-3 Communications announced today that its Electron Technologies, Inc. subsidiary (L-3 ETI) has received a contract valued at over $20 million from Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) to provide S-band Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers (TWTAs) for two communications satellites being built for ICO Satellite Management, LLC, and Terrestar Networks, Inc.
In communication satellites, TWTAs are used to amplify and transmit radio frequency signals back to Earth for a variety of applications, including voice, video and data.
L-3 ETI will deliver a flight set of 130-watt S-band TWTAs for the ICO program and a flight set of 100-watt S-band TWTAs for the Terrestar program. This order represents the eighth and ninth flight sets of S-band TWTAs ordered from L-3 ETI by SS/L.
Both satellites under this order are geosynchronous (GEO) satellites based on SS/L's space-proven 1300 platform and will provide next-generation, 2-GHz mobile voice and data communications throughout the United States.
"We are extremely pleased to be selected by SS/L for the ICO and Terrestar programs," said Kevin Mallon, president of L-3 ETI. "L-3 ETI has an exceptional history of supporting SS/L and we appreciate the confidence the SS/L team has in our technical and production capabilities."
Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, is a premier designer, manufacturer and integrator of powerful satellites and satellite systems. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company has an international base of commercial and governmental customers whose applications include broadband digital communications, direct-to-home broadcast, defense communications, environmental monitoring and air traffic control. SS/L satellites have amassed more than 1,200 years of reliable on-orbit service. For more information, see www.ssloral.com.
L-3 ETI, based in Torrance, Calif., is a leading provider of high-reliability products for space and defense customers. ETI's primary business area includes the manufacture of high-reliability TWTs, EPCs and TWTAs for space and military applications. The company also offers a full catalog of space-qualified passive microwave payload products and state-of-the-art satellite electric propulsion systems.
Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization, training and government services. The company is a leading merchant supplier of a broad array of high technology products, including guidance and navigation, sensors, scanners, fuzes, data links, propulsion systems, simulators, avionics, electro optics, satellite communications, electrical power equipment, encryption, signal intelligence, antennas and microwave components.
L-3 also supports a variety of Homeland Security initiatives with products and services. Its customers include the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, selected U.S. Government intelligence agencies, and aerospace prime contractors. For more information, see www.L-3Com.com.
