spacetoday.net: Australian government cancels military satellite program

Australian government cancels military satellite program

Posted: Sat, Nov 9, 2024, 9:51 AM ET (1451 GMT)
The Australian government has canceled a multibillion-dollar military satellite contract with Lockheed Martin. The Australian Department of Defence said Monday it was canceling the JP9102 program, which planned to develop three to five GEO satellites that would provide dedicated military communications services, and will instead examine multi-orbit solutions. Lockheed Martin won the contract, with an estimated value of $5 billion, 18 months ago. The decision to end JP9102 is yet another sign of the disruptive impact that low Earth orbit space internet services, led by the rapid growth of SpaceX's Starlink, are having on the traditional satellite communications industry and government procurement models.