An expendable Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off on Wednesday to deliver a quartet of communication satellites into orbit for the growing Globalstar network.
The Starsem Soyuz booster lifted off at 10:33 a.m.ET from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. The three-stage, liquid-fueled booster carried the 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th members of Globalstars planned 52-member constellation into orbit.
The company, which will be offering mobile, global communication services, plans to have its 48 operational satellites and four spares in orbit by the end of the year.
Partners in Globalstars $2.6 billion venture include Qualcomm Inc., AirTouch Communications, Alcatel, Alenia, DACOM, Daimler-Benz Aerospace, Elsag Bailey, France Telecom, Hyundai, Space Systems/Loral and Vodafone.
The partnership suffered an early setback when a Ukraine-built Zenit 2 rocket failed last year, wiping out the 12 satellites aboard. Since then, all launches for Globalstar have been successful.
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