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Boeing-built LightSquared Space-Based Network Ready to Begin Service

By on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Boeing today announced that it has completed the post-launch testing and on-orbit handover of the first LightSquared satellite and Space-Based Network (SBN). The satellite system has been accepted by LightSquared and is ready to begin service.

“Boeing has delivered LightSquared’s SkyTerra 1 satellite after integrating the satellite’s communications with the ground segment to form the first integrated wireless broadband and satellite network,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. “The LightSquared SBN is an end-to-end satellite communications system that draws on Boeing’s proven performance on large-scale integration programs. It demonstrates again that Boeing is the first choice to provide next-generation satellite systems to customers seeking leading-edge communications solutions.”

The LightSquared SBN will combine satellite and terrestrial technologies to enable high-capacity data use for standard cell phones, PDAs and other wireless devices. The SkyTerra 1 satellite carries a 22-meter L-band antenna — the largest commercial antenna reflector in space. The SkyTerra 1 satellite will relay high-data-rate radio frequency (RF) signals to four ground stations in the United States and Canada that use state-of-the-art beam-forming equipment to seamlessly direct transmissions to the complete wireless network.

The SkyTerra 1 satellite was launched Nov. 14 on an International Launch Services Proton vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Boeing, the prime contractor for LightSquared’s satellites, built SkyTerra 1 at its integration and test complex in El Segundo. Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Fla., developed the satellite’s L-band reflector. ViaSat’s Comsat Laboratories in Germantown, Md., provided the ground-based beam-forming equipment, the uplink beacon stations and the ground stations’ control and monitoring system. SED Systems of Saskatoon, Canada, provided the antennas, RF elements and integration services at the gateway stations.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world’s largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 66,000 employees worldwide.

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