Loral Space & Communications

Loral Space & Communications was a major New York-based satellite company that combined GEO satellite manufacturing (through Space Systems Loral, SSL, in Palo Alto, California) with GEO satellite fleet operations — until a series of strategic transactions between 1996 and 2021 progressively dismantled its operations and absorbed them into larger entities.

Loral Corporation was founded in 1948 as a defense electronics company; under Bernard Schwartz's leadership it acquired Space Systems Loral (and earlier Ford Aerospace's satellite manufacturing business) to build one of the largest GEO satellite manufacturers outside the traditional prime contractors. In 1996, Loral sold the defense electronics operations to Lockheed Martin for $9.1 billion — using those proceeds to double down on its space and satellite business — while spinning off Loral Space & Communications as the satellite-focused public company (Nasdaq: LORL) retaining SSL manufacturing and the LoralSkynet GEO satellite fleet.

The LoralSkynet fleet provided transponder capacity to television broadcasters and government customers through Telstar satellites (Telstar 4, 5, 6, 7 series) and other leased orbital slots. However, Loral's aggressive investment in the Globalstar LEO satellite telephone constellation — a major equity stake in the late 1990s $2.5B venture — proved devastating when Globalstar's business model failed in the dot-com bust. Loral filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2003, simultaneously facing controversy over a 1999 State Department investigation into whether Loral improperly transferred missile guidance technology to China during a commercial satellite launch review — resulting in a $20M fine and significant reputational damage.

Emerging from bankruptcy in 2005, the restructured Loral retained a 33% stake in Telesat Canada and its SSL manufacturing subsidiary. MDA Corporation acquired SSL for approximately $875 million in 2012, leaving Loral as primarily a Telesat holding company. The subsequent Maxar Technologies formation in 2017 (MDA + DigitalGlobe + SSL) and Loral's eventual merger into Telesat Canada's ownership structure in 2021 completed the dissolution of the independent Loral entity.