spacetoday.net: Business briefs: March 22

Posted: Sat, Mar 23, 2002, 10:25 AM ET (1525 GMT)

RadioShack is funding the current trip to Moscow by potential space tourist Lance Bass, the company announced Friday. Bass, a member of the pop group *NSYNC, is in Moscow to undergo medical tests to verify that he is fit to fly on a future Soyuz mission. RadioShack has already participated in space commercialization efforts, filming a commercial on ISS last year.
Boeing is planning a smaller version of its 702 communications satellite in an effort to boost sales, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The new satellite would fill a gap between the smaller 601 and the very large 702. The company hopes that the new spacecraft would also improve the company's reputation, damaged after problems developed with the 702's solar panels.
France Telecom plans to sell its share in three satellite communications companies, Space News reported Thursday. France Telecom will sell its portions of Eutelsat, Intelsat, and Inmarsat, but did not specify when it would sell them, or to whom. All three companies are planning IPOs in 2002.