Lockheed
Martin
Awarded
Contract
to
Deliver
VINASAT-2
for
Nation
of
Vietnam
11
May
2010
Lockheed
Martin
announced
the
award
of a
contract
by
Vietnam
Posts
and
Telecommunications
Group
(VNPT)
of
Vietnam
to
build
the
VINASAT-2
satellite.
In-orbit
delivery
is
slated
for
the
second
quarter
of
2012.
Financial
terms
were
not
disclosed.
Based
on
the
highly
reliable
A2100
spacecraft
platform
manufactured
by
Lockheed
Martin
Commercial
Space
Systems
(LMCSS),
Newtown,
Pa.,
VINASAT-2
will
be
located
at
131.8
degrees
east
longitude
and
provide
a
minimum
service
life
of
15
years.
The
VINASAT-2
contract
marks
the
second
satellite
order
VNPT
has
awarded
to
Lockheed
Martin,
which
will
manage
the
project
in
its
entirety,
including
satellite
design
and
manufacturing,
launch
procurement,
and
final
in-orbit
testing
before
customer
acceptance.
Lockheed
Martin
successfully
delivered
VINASAT-1,
the
first
satellite
ever
for
the
nation
of
Vietnam,
in
2008.
VINASAT-2
will
feature
24
Ku-band
fixed
high
power
communication
channels,
providing
uplink
and
downlink
coverage
over
Vietnam,
Cambodia,
Thailand
and
Laos.
Lockheed
Martin's
low-risk
solution
utilizes
and
leverages
heritage
Ku-band
flight-proven
equipment
from
numerous
previous
A2100
programs
to
meet
the
customer's
schedule
requirements.
LMCSS
has
delivered
38
A2100
commercial
spacecraft,
with
an
average
cycle
time
of
24
months
with
satellites
of
similar
complexity
as
VINASAT-2.
"Lockheed
Martin
is
extremely
proud
that
VNPT
has
again
placed
its
faith
in
us
to
provide
a
low-risk
technical
solution
that
will
fully
satisfy
mission
needs,"
said
LMCSS
Vice-President
Joe
Rickers.
"With
a
focus
on
minimizing
risk
and
providing
schedule
assurance,
we
look
forward
to
achieving
operational
excellence
and
mission
success
in
support
of
VNPT's
business
objectives."
"Lockheed
Martin's
in-depth
experience
was
reflected
in
Lockheed
Martin's
feasible
solutions
to
mitigate
the
risk
of
the
project
in
the
contract
signed
today,"
said
VNPT
Chairman
of
the
Board
Pham
Long
Tran.
"From
the
shared
success
of
the
VINASAT-1
project,
I do
believe
that
Lockheed
Martin
will
be
able
to
again
meet
the
schedule
requirement
and
jointly
cooperate
with
VNPT
for
the
successful
implementation
of
the
VINASAT-2
Project."
In
addition
to
VNPT,
Lockheed
Martin
has
delivered
19
spacecraft
to
Asian
customers,
including
nine
A2100
satellites.
The
Lockheed
Martin
A2100
geosynchronous
spacecraft
series
is
designed
to
meet
a
wide
variety
of
telecommunications
needs
including
Ka-band
broadband
and
broadcast
services,
fixed
satellite
services
in
C-band
and
Ku-band,
high-power
direct
broadcast
services
using
the
Ku-band
frequency
spectrum
and
mobile
satellite
services
using
UHF,
L-band,
and
S-band
payloads.
The
A2100's
modular
design
features
a
reduction
in
parts,
simplified
construction,
increased
on-orbit
reliability
and
reduced
weight
and
cost.
The
A2100
spacecraft's
design
accommodates
a
large
range
of
communication
payloads.
This
design
modularity
enables
the
A2100
spacecraft
to
be
configured
for
missions
other
than
communication.
The
A2100
design
has
been
adapted
for
geostationary
Earth
orbit
(GEO)-based
earth
observing
missions
and
is
the
baselined
platform
for
Lockheed
Martin's
Geostationary
Operational
Environmental
Satellite
Series-R
program.
In
addition,
the
A2100
serves
as
the
platform
for
critical
government
communications
programs,
including
the
Advanced
Extremely
High
Frequency
and
Mobile
User
Objective
System
satellites.
The
A2100
also
serves
as
the
spacecraft
platform
for
Lockheed
Martin's
GPS
III
program.
talk Satellite welcomes comment -
comment@talksatellite.com
