SUNNYVALE, CA, November 20th, 1998 -- Lockheed Martin and Space Communications Corporation (SCC) today signed a contract for a geosynchronous satellite and ground station that will serve the Japanese telecommunications marketplace. Mike Henshaw, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, and Teruhiko Ena, president of SCC, signed the contract with Takuya Yoshida, president of Japan Satellite Systems Inc. (JSAT), participating as a witness to the event. The satellite, named N-SAT-110, will serve two operators, SCC and JSAT, both based in Tokyo. It will provide Ku-band commercial telecommunications services to the Japanese islands, including direct broadcast and fixed services such as telephony and data services.

"This is a critical win for Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, as it solidifies our presence in the key commercial telecommunications marketplace," said Henshaw. "This contract reintroduces Lockheed Martin to the satellite communications market in Japan and we're looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship."

"Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space offered us an accelerated production schedule and the best value proposal," said Ena.

The satellite is planned for launch during the third quarter of 2000. The Satellite Control Facility will give SCC and JSAT the ability to fly the new spacecraft and provide critical flight data for telemetry, tracking and control functions.

Some of the components for the payload will be supplied by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, which has experience building critical components of previous generations of Superbird satellites.

The N-SAT-110 satellite will be built in the Commercial Satellite Center, one of the largest, most efficient facilities in the industry. Based in Sunnyvale, California, the center's co-located assembly and test facilities dramatically reduce the production cycle.

The A2100's geosynchronous spacecraft is designed to meet a wide range of telecommunications needs ranging from fixed satellite services in hybrid payload configurations to high power direct broadcast services using the Ku- band frequency spectrum. Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space is under contract for 13 additional A2100 spacecraft from commercial satellite operators around the world.

The A2100's modular design features a major reduction in parts count, simplifying construction, increasing on-orbit reliability and reducing weight and cost. The A2100 bus is produced entirely from composite materials, which makes it stronger and lighter than other bus designs and in turn reduces launch costs. The composite structure also protects the payload from thermal distortions.

Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space is a leading supplier of satellites to military, civil government and commercial communications organizations around the world. These spacecraft have enhanced global communications; provided new, extensive and timely weather information; and furnished new data for thousands of scientists studying our planet and space. More than 750 spacecraft built by Missiles & Space have been launched since 1958, including more than 135 commercial satellites.