New Constellation Will Position the Company for Growth by Restoring Industry Leading Voice and Duplex Data Services While it Further Expands Its Award-Winning Spot-Branded Consumer Product Line

COVINGTON, La., Oct 20, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) --

Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq:GSAT), a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services to businesses, government, and individuals today announced that six new second-generation Globalstar satellites were successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, using the Soyuz launch vehicle.

 

The Globalstar satellites were launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, October 19th at 11:11 p.m. local time (5:11 p.m. UTC and 1:11 p.m. EDT), using the Soyuz-Fregat version of the Soyuz launch vehicle. This is the 1762nd successful launch of the Soyuz family launch vehicle.

 

Launch services provider Arianespace confirmed that the upper stage accurately injected the six-satellite dispenser into the targeted low earth orbit of approximately 920 km. Globalstar reports that all six satellites have been successfully acquired following separation of the Fregat Upper Stage and release from the satellite dispenser. Globalstar has initiated satellite in-orbit testing and the performance of all six spacecraft is nominal at this time.

 

"After more than four and a half years of concentrated effort we are extremely pleased to announce the successful inaugural launch of our second-generation constellation satellites," said Tony Navarra, President of Global Operations for Globalstar, Inc. "It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that we begin initiating our second-generation satellite operations and look forward to the future services the constellation will support. With all six satellites now safely in orbit we congratulate and applaud all of our Globalstar employees world-wide and thank launch provider Arianespace as well as our satellite contractor Thales Alenia Space for this launch success."

 

Peter Dalton, CEO of Globalstar, Inc., added, "Once fully deployed we expect our satellite constellation will reliably provide the world's finest quality mobile satellite voice and fastest mobile satellite handset data services in the industry. With a fifteen year design life, the new satellite constellation will secure our space segment beyond 2025. Combined with our affordable and award-winning suite of consumer retail SPOT products, Globalstar will be positioned to offer the world's most extensive lineup of high quality mobile satellite services to the broadest range of commercial and retail consumer customers around the globe."

 

Globalstar signed a contract with satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space in late 2006 for the design, manufacture and delivery of its second-generation constellation satellites. A total of four launches of six satellites each will be conducted by launch services provider Arianespace using the highly reliable Soyuz launch vehicle. Globalstar plans to integrate the 24 new second-generation satellites with the eight first-generation satellites that were launched in 2007, to form a 32 satellite constellation.

 

Once the first six new Globalstar satellites become operational, service availability and reliability improvements will benefit those customers who use the Company's voice and Duplex data services. With each subsequent launch, these customers can expect a progressive return to the high quality system access and data session performance metrics customers enjoyed before 2007.

 

The new satellites are designed to support Globalstar's current lineup of voice, Duplex and Simplex data products and services including the Company's lineup of SPOT retail consumer products. The advanced constellation combined with the Company's next-generation ground network, expected to be installed by 2012, is also designed to provide Globalstar customers with enhanced future services featuring increased data speeds of up to 256 kbps in a flexible Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) configuration. Products and services supported are expected to include: push-to-talk and multicasting, advanced messaging capabilities such as multimedia messaging or MMS, geo-location services, multi-band and multi-mode handsets, and data devices with GPS integration.

 

GMPCS Comments

 

GMPCS is pleased that Globalstar has completed their first launch aimed at re-building their satellite constellation and building a base for a new family of services in the future. I want to take a minute to explain to our Globalstar customers just what this launch means to them.

 

• First, everyone needs to understand that this is the first of four launches planned to re-build their constellation and re-store

Globalstar voice service to what it was before their problems.

 

• Do not expect any immediate improvement in service quality from this first launch. It will take about three months for

Globalstar’s engineers to position the satellites and conduct tests before bringing the satellites into service.

 

• Even with the first group of satellites in service, the Globalstar constellation will still only be about 35% complete.

Globalstar plans three more launches starting early in 2011 through the summer of 2011. With each launch, service

coverage and quality is expected to improve.

 

GMPCS expects fairly good coverage and service by early summer of 2011, and good voice and data service by the fall of 2011. We will make sure we keep you all informed of developments with your Globalstar service through GMPCS and encourage you to contact us with any questions at: contact@gmpcs-us.com 

 

 

Jon Klein

General Manager GMPCS