Space Systems/Loral, of Palo Alto, California, is the wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications. It was acquired in 1990 by Loral Corp. from Ford Motor Company as the Space Systems Division of Ford Aerospace & Communications Corp.
Space Systems/Loral (under its former name) pioneered the design and manufacture of large, three-axis body-stabilized communications satellites. In the 1990s, it designed and manufactured the largest power storage system on-orbit, the nickel-hydrogen battery system aboard the International Space Station. That NASA contract also includes the power-conditioning electronics equipment for the station.
Other customers include DirecTV, EchoStar, Globalstar, Intelsat, Japan (MTSAT), JSC Gascom, Loral Skynet, NASA/NOAA (GOES), Optus, PanAmSat, and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Space Systems/Loral's major competitors are Boeing Satellite Systems, Lockheed Martin, Alcatel, and EADS Astrium.
In 2004, SS/L announced a joint venture with S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia to manufacture and market small satellites.
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