Globalstar Temporary Service Problems
On or about February 1, 2007, Globalstar completed a reconfiguration of satellites that provide coverage primarily over N. American and the Caribbean. This reconfiguration was an exercise to improve service coverage and reliability due to technical failures on some of the satellites. By placing existing spare satellites into these orbital positions, Globalstar has significantly improved service related to some poor performing satellites. GMPCS has performed extensive testing around the continental USA and can confirm that there is a marketable improvement and we're satisfied with the results. However, if your business or use requires guaranteed availability of service without waiting for service to come into view, we strongly recommend considering alternatives such as Iridium or Inmarsat. GMPCS can help you with this.In addition to the reconfiguration, Globalstar will be launching four additional satellites this May. These satellites, together with the additional four ground spare satellites due to be launched later this year, will revitalize the operating constellation and help ensure that the quality of service Globalstar customers have come to expect is maintained through the launch of the second generation satellite constellation. The second-generation satellites are scheduled for delivery beginning in the summer of 2009.
The four Globalstar satellites are to be launched by the Euro-Russian launch services company Starsem (Arianespace, EADS, Roscosmos, Samara Space Center) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, using the highly reliable, human-rated Soyuz launch vehicle. In addition to launching commercial satellite payloads, the Soyuz booster is used to launch astronauts and cosmonauts, as well as Progress cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. Starsem already successfully launched twenty-four Globalstar satellites with Soyuz in 1999 from Baikonur, the same launch complex used to send the world first artificial satellite Sputnik 1, into space almost fifty years ago.
Globalstar is investing over $110 million to launch these four satellites plus the remaining four ground spares that will augment two-way voice and data satellite service to our customers through the launch our second generation constellation. GMPCS is excited to see the launching of these satellites and looks forward to the second generation constellation.
Iridium remains the best choice for customers who need to know that their satellite call will get through the first time. Iridium has recently issued a quality guarantee that guarantees the reliability of their system.
