[Satellite News 08-04-08]  Iridium Satellite LLC (Iridium) has selected Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space to participate in the final phase of its procurement process for the company’s next-generation satellite constellation, "Iridium NEXT."
    In a statement, Iridium said it chose Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space as “a result of their initial, innovative constellation design concepts; demonstrated understanding of performance requirements and capabilities; and preliminary cost estimates for the manufacture and launch of Iridium NEXT.”
    Iridium also said that the final phase will last approximately nine months and is anticipated to result in the award of a full- scale development agreement for Iridium NEXT with one prime contractor by mid-2009.