spacetoday.net: News briefs: December 7

Posted: Sat, Dec 8, 2001, 9:45 AM ET (1445 GMT)

Lockheed Martin announced Friday that it is closing its Global Telecommunications (LMGT) division and laying off up to 650 people. The company cited overcapacity in the communications market and weak economic conditions in Latin America for the move. The company will take a $1.7 billion charge in its fiscal fourth quarter to cover costs of the closure. Some aspects of LMGT division, such as COMSAT, will be taken over by the company's Space Systems division.
The Japanese space agency NASDA unveiled its second H-2A booster Friday. The rocket is scheduled to launch on January 31, carrying an experimental satellite and reentry probe.
NIMA is still negotiating with Space Imaging on an extension of its exclusive contract for Ikonos images of Afghanistan, Space News reported Friday. The last monthly contract expired December 5, but Space Imaging is continuing to abide by the terms of the contract and has not released any high-resolution images of the region.
Incredible Adventures, a Florida space tourism company, announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with MirCorp to jointly market space tourism activities in Russia. Such activities include zero-g and high-altitude aircraft flights and cosmonaut training, and would eventually include Soyuz flights to the International Space Station offered by MirCorp.