Lockheed Martin has won a contract with NewSat Limited (NewSat) of Australia to build the Jabiru-1 satellite. The construction of the satellite will commence immediately and it will be ready for launch in the second half of 2014. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Based on the highly reliable A2100 spacecraft platform manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS), Newtown, Pa., Jabiru-1 will provide Ka-band services to South Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Africa. The satellite has been designed for a minimum service life of 15 years.

Jabiru-1 is NewSat's first geostationary communications satellite and will provide high-powered satellite capacity to enterprise customers in the oil, natural gas, mining, financial and government sectors.

The Jabiru-1 satellite will feature 50 Ka-band high power TWTAs configured in a variety of spot beams, theater beams, and steered beams to provide flexible communication solutions for a range of diverse applications.

Lockheed Martin's solution utilizes and leverages A2100 heritage and flight proven equipment to meet the Jabiru-1 schedule requirements.

"With a focus on mission success and schedule certainty, we look forward to partnering with NewSat to meet their business objectives," said Joseph Rickers, president of Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems.

"Lockheed Martin is a world leader in defense and commercial space manufacturing," said Adrian Ballantine, CEO of NewSat Limited. "NewSat is delighted to award the contract to a trusted and important global player who will support the deployment of Australia's first independently owned commercial satellite."

The Lockheed Martin A2100 satellite series is designed to meet a wide variety of communications needs including Ka-band broadband and broadcast services, fixed satellite services in C-band and Ku-band, high-power direct broadcast services using the Ku and Ka-band frequency and mobile satellite services using UHF, L-band, and S-band.

The A2100's modular design features simplified construction, increased on-orbit reliability and reduced weight and cost. The A2100 design accommodates a large range of communication payloads and serves as the platform for critical government communications programs, including the U.S. Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency and the Navy's Mobile User Objective System satellites.

The A2100 can also be configured for missions other than communications. It has been adapted for Lockheed Martin's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Series-R Earth observing mission and serves as the platform for Lockheed Martin's Space Based Infrared System and GPS III satellites.

NewSat Limited is a publicly list company and is Australia's largest specialist satellite communications company, delivering Internet, voice, data and video communications via satellite.

With its unique-to-Australia Teleport infrastructure, NewSat provides a full range of managed satellite communication services and has established a reputation as the partner of choice for governments, corporations and private enterprises.

Today, NewSat has the ability to provide coverage to 75% of the globe; from Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, across the Indian Ocean extending into Europe and across the Pacific Ocean, reaching the West coast of the United States

NewSat's Teleports in Perth (Western Australia) and Adelaide (South Australia) are accredited to supply services to the Australian Department of Defence and are recognized as highly secure Global Access Points, supporting certified classified networks to ensure the transmission of vital and sensitive information for government clients.

NewSat will be expanding its satellite capabilities with the Jabiru Satellite Program, beginning with the launch and operation of Jabiru-1, Australia's first independently owned commercial satellite. Jabiru-1, a large Ka-band next generation satellite, will provide superior coverage over South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Jabiru-2, also scheduled, will deliver enhanced coverage in and around Australia.

NewSat has rights to seven premium orbital slots and its fleet of next generation geostationary satellites will lead Australia's space quest.