Loral Space & Communications

Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff and incorporated in Delaware. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin for $9.1 billion. In 2006, Bernard L. Schwartz retired after leading the company for many years.

Loral presently has an investment in Telesat Canada in partnership with the Public Sector Pension Investment Board of Canada. The company also participates in a number of international and domestic joint ventures, including an ownership stake in XTAR.

History

On March 20, 1998, Loral completed the acquisition of Orion Network Systems, Inc., through the exchange of common stock. The transaction was valued at approximately $479 million.

In January 2002, Loral reached a settlement with the U.S. Government in a case relating to the company’s involvement in the disclosure of information during a review of a Chinese rocket launch failure in 1996. Loral agreed to pay a civil fine of $14 million to the State Department without admitting or denying the government’s charges. According to a House Select Committee, Loral under CEO Schwartz provided the Chinese government with advice regarding a guidance system for future PRC road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Defense Technology Security Administration concluded Loral "committed a serious export control violation" and that the "significant benefits derived by China from these activities are likely to lead to improvements in the overall reliability of their launch vehicles [i.e., rockets] and ballistic missiles and in particular their guidance systems." Loral paid a total fine of $20 million, the largest that a company has ever paid under the Arms Export Control Act.

List of minor planets: 5001–6000

SSL 1300

The SSL 1300, previously the LS-1300 and the FS-1300, is a satellite bus produced by SSL (company). Total broadcast power ranges from 5 to 25 kW, and the platform can accommodate from 12 to 150 transponders. The SSL 1300 is a modular platform and SSL no longer reports designators for sub-versions, such as: 1300E, 1300HL, 1300S, 1300X.

First available in the late 1980s, the SSL 1300 platform underwent revision multiple times over its design life, all the while remaining a popular communications platform. The earliest models provided 5,000 RF watts of transmitter power, weighed 5,500 kg, and required a 4-meter diameter launch fairing. Newer models provide double that, approximately 10,000 RF watts of transmitter power, weigh 6,700 kg, and require a 5-meter diameter launch fairing.

In September 2015 SSL announced that it had delivered 100 satellites based on the SSL 1300 platform. There are more SSL 1300's currently providing service on orbit than any other model communications satellite.