GLOBALSTARs M033, M050, M055, and M058 were the latest to join the American fleet of low orbit satellites that enable links between fixed or mobile phones located far away from cellular networks. With these four, the operational fleet has now 40 satellites. They were launched by a Soyuz-U booster from Baikonur at 14:33 UT on 1999 September 22. The eventual fleet of 52 (48 + 4 spares?) satellites was monitored by a global network of 19 ground stations. Eight more GLOBALSTARs were due for Soyuz-U launches in 1999 October/November. Initial orbital parameters of all four were similar: period 105 min, apogee 1000 km, perigee 900 km, and inclination 52 deg.
Globalstar planned 52 satellites (48 operational and 4 on-orbit spares) in Space Systems Loral's "Big LEO" global mobile communications network, offering global real time voice, data and fax. The satellites were 3-axis stabilized, and employed magnetometers on a deployable boom, sun sensors, GPS as attitude sensors, and carried two deployable solar arrays delivering 1100 W. The satellites in the first-generation constellation were designed to operate at full performance for a minimum of 7.5 years.
The satellites in the system were placed into low earth orbit in eight operational planes of six satellites each, with 1,414 kilometer circular orbits inclined at 52 degrees.
Facts in Brief
Launch Date: 1999-09-22
Launch Vehicle: Soyuz-U
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), Kazakhstan