Lockheed to Build Australia's First Independently Owned Satellit

Online, December 12, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems was awarded the contract for the manufacturing of NewSat's Jabiru 1 satellite. NewSat plans to launch the state-of-the-art satellite in the second half of 2014.

Jabiru-1 will be one of the five state-of-the-art satellites to be launched by NewSat in the following years. Utilizing advanced Ka band technology and Lockheed Martin's proven A2100 series spacecraft, the Ka band satellite will boast of in-orbit life of 15 years and more than 7 GHz capacity. The timeline for the construction of the satellite is yet to be announced.

The Jabiru-1 contract will further solidify the position of Lockheed Martin as a world leader in spacecraft engineering. Jabiru-1 will be one of the largest commercial satellites to serve the Australian market. It is also Australia's first commercial satellite to be operated by an independent carrier.

According to NewSat CEO Adrian Ballintine, the company has completed the initial payment and will continue with the milestone payments throughout the terms of the contract. Financial backing is to be provided by U.S. Ex-Im Bank and Coface.

With US$279 million in sales contracts, NewSat sees its vision of being a global satellite operator becoming a reality. The Jabiru-1 fleet comprises five geostationary Ka band satellites to be positioned over various continents. Joseph Rickers, the president of Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, is excited to start to see the expansion of NewSat's Ka band capacity. He applauded the Australian satellite broadband carrier for its state-of-the-art teleports and extensive range of critical communications services for several industries. "Lockheed Martin's flexible and powerful A2100 satellite architecture is ideally suited for the Jabiru-1 mission, helping NewSat achieve their business objectives as a satellite operator," said Rickers.

Jabiru-1 will provide high speed satellite Internet and connectivity to emerging markers in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Main markets include India, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. The Ka band payload is designed for enterprise-level and special communications needs, including VOIP, mobile backhaul, Internet on demand and videoconferencing. The satellite will feature flexible bandwidth allocation, higher bandwidth and support for compact antennas and dishes, providing cost-effective wireless connectivity for telecommunications, mining, oil, military, transportation and broadcast industries.

NewSat's stock price increased by 5% last week shortly after the contract was announced.