A German-led European program to design a small satellite platform for future commercial telecommunications missions appears to be winning new support after initial hesitation by Germany's partners in the European Space Agency (ESA). The latest convert to what is known as the Small Geo Satellite is the Spanish government, which has decided to invest in the program. Seven other nations also have agreed to take part. ESA governments in December agreed to spend 100 million euros ($125 million) developing the Small Geo platform under the industrial leadership of OHB-System of Bremen, Germany. That sum will be matched by nearly 100 million euros in industrial contributions to the development of the platform and production of a first flight model for launch in 2010.
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