DENVER, Feb. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A new,
high-capacity communications satellite that will deliver TV,
internet and mobile phone services to the Middle East, Africa and Europe is one step closer to launch. Lockheed
Martin (NYSE: LMT) has completed assembly on the Arabsat-6A
satellite, which was recently shipped to its Sunnyvale, California facility to begin a
comprehensive series of tests to ensure the satellite is ready for
operations in orbit.
"This new satellite will strengthen our existing fleet that
offers millions of people mobile and landline communications
service across the region," said Khalid Balkheyour, CEO of Arabsat.
"We look forward to completing and launching this state-of-the-art
new satellite to offer even greater internet, television and radio
services to our customers."
Arabsat-6A is part of the two-satellite Arabsat-6G program for
Arabsat and is the second of Lockheed Martin's modernized LM 2100
series satellites to complete assembly. The other satellite in the
Arabsat 6G program, Hellas Sat
4/SaudiGeoSat-1, recently completed assembly and was also shipped
to Sunnyvale in November of 2017
for testing.
"Arabsat-6A and its companion satellite, Hellas Sat 4/SaudiGeoSat-1 are the most advanced
commercial communications satellites we've ever built," said
Lisa Callahan, vice president and
general manager of Commercial Civil Space for Lockheed Martin. "The
modernized LM 2100 that these satellites are built on is packed
with new innovations, including solar arrays that are 30 percent
lighter and 50 percent more powerful, upgraded flight software and
more efficient propulsion capabilities resulting in longer maneuver
life. Those improvements will deliver greater precision,
performance and value in orbit."
During the trip from Denver to
Sunnyvale, Arabsat-6A was housed
in a "mobile cleanroom," which keeps the satellite secure and in
pristine condition, free of virtually any specks of dust and
contaminants that could damage its precision electronics.
In California, the satellite
will undergo multiple tests to ensure it is fit for flight. The
satellite will be blasted with sound, exposed to extreme heat and
cold, and subjected to a total vacuum to simulate what it will
endure during its launch and operations in space. The testing will
be completed and the satellite ready for delivery to the launch
site by the end of the year.
Lockheed Martin is building five modernized LM 2100 satellites
for a host of missions and customers around the globe.
- For additional information, visit our website:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/commercialspace.
- For more photos of Arabsat-6A, please click here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lockheedmartin/albums/72157683974478692
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda,
Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace
company that employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide and is
principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology
systems, products and services.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin