Lockheed Feels the 'Iridium Effect'


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	Lockheed Feels the 'Iridium Effect' By Jonathan Lipman Special to space.com posted: 06:51 pm ET 29 September 1999

VENTURESTAR WILL PIGGY-BACK ITS CARGO

WASHINGTON (States News Service) – Lockheed-Martin has decided to re-examine its business plan in light of the economic failures of satellite communication companies like Iridium, according to company officials testifying at a congressional hearing.

Lockheed is planning on a strong commercial demand for cheap flights to orbit. The expected revenues are fueling its decision to build its VentureStar fleet using almost no money from the government.

But possible future clients Iridium and ICO Global Communications have both declared bankruptcy this summer, scaring away investors from other fledgling space businesses. Both companies planned on launching large numbers of small satellites into low earth orbit to maintain a global satellite telephone network.

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Although he insists that the company’s plans to build the vehicle have not changed, Lockheed Vice President Jerry Rising said those failures "have caused us to go back and look at our market plan" to see if the space business will pan out as they thought it would.

However, Rising said after the hearing that "The X-33 was designed to prove single-stage-to-orbit (technology). Once you prove single-stage-to-orbit, that’s got to be financially viable."