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Loral Corporation was a defense contractor founded in 1948 in
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by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation. The company's name was taken from the first syllables of each founder's surname.


History

Loral Corporation originally developed
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
and
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
systems for the US Navy. In 1959 it went public with an initial offering of 250,000 shares at $12 each. Part of the proceeds from this offering were used to build a new headquarters on its site at 825 Bronx River Avenue, in the
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section of
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, New York. In 1959 it began to diversify, buying several smaller companies, through which it won more military contracts. Some purchased companies included Willor Manufacturing Corp., American Beryllium Co., Inc., of
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, Arco Electronics, and several plastics companies. In 1961, it formed a division for developing communications,
telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...
, and space navigation systems for satellites. As its expansion increased, it borrowed $15 million from the
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, also known as MassMutual, is a Springfield, Massachusetts-based life insurance company. MassMutual provides financial products such as life insurance, Disability insurance, disability income ins ...
in 1965. In the late 1960s, it was awarded many military contracts, including a $3.9 million U.S. Navy contract for Doppler navigation radar in 1965, a $14 million contract from
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...
for advanced electronics for the U.S. Air Force
F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabilit ...
airplane in 1969, and a $3.9 million contract for airborne countermeasures for the Phantom RF-4C reconnaissance plane. By the late 1960s, Loral specialized in radar receivers, which identified signatures of enemy radar systems on missiles and anti-aircraft guns. By the late 1960s, Loral's corporate purchases were causing problems for the company. By 1971 it had lost $3 million and was sometimes unable to meet its loan payments. Many acquisitions were not profitable and also not in Loral's primary business. The founders, Lorenz and Alpert, were prepared to sell half their interest in the company. Loral was on the verge of
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
in 1972 before Bernard L. Schwartz bought 12% of the company and became CEO. Over the next two decades he built it into a major player in the global
aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...
and defense industry, acquiring 16 other defense and aerospace companies. In 1995, Loral had $5.5 billion in revenue. In 1996 Loral sold its defense electronics and system integration businesses to
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
; its remaining units became
Loral Space & Communications Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a Delaware-domiciled satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and system ...
. The following year, several of those former Loral units were spun off by Lockheed Martin to become the core of L-3 Communications. Loral was accused of transferring technology to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in 1996. The incident arose as a result of an investigation into the launch failure of Intelsat 708, a
Space Systems/Loral SSL, formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California, is a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Maxar Technologies. SSL designs and builds satellites and space systems for a wide variety of government and commercial cust ...
-built satellite. In a 2002 agreement with the
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and
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
the company agreed to pay $20 million in fines to settle the matter and to improve its compliance procedures. In the agreement Loral officials neither admitted nor denied the government's charges; Loral executives acknowledged "the nature and seriousness of the offenses alleged by the department in the draft charging letter, including the risk of harm to the security and foreign policy interests of the United States", and stated that they wished to make amends through the payment of restitution. Schwartz subsequently released a statement accepting "full responsibility for the matter" and portrayed the incident as an error by a single Loral employee."Satellite Maker Fined $20 Million in China Trade Secrets Case"
New York Times, Thursday, January 10, 2002.


Timeline

* 1948 – Loral Electronics Corporation founded * 1959 – Loral makes a public stock offering and becomes a public corporation * 1972 – Loral is on the verge of
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
, Bernard L. Schwartz acquires it. * 1987 – Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company sold
Goodyear Aerospace Goodyear Aerospace Corporation (GAC) was the aerospace and defense subsidiary of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The company was originally operated as a division within Goodyear as the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, part of a joint project ...
(GAC) to Loral, which became Loral Defense Systems. * October 1990 – Loral acquires
Ford Aerospace Ford Aerospace was the aerospace and defense division of Ford Motor Company. It was based in Dearborn, Michigan and was active from 1956 (originally as Philco and then Philco Ford) through 1990, when it was sold to the Loral Corporation. Major di ...
, the divisions of which become
Space Systems/Loral SSL, formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California, is a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Maxar Technologies. SSL designs and builds satellites and space systems for a wide variety of government and commercial cust ...
and Loral Western Development Labs. * 1991 – With
Qualcomm Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...
, Loral begins the
Globalstar Globalstar, Inc. is an American telecommunications company that operates a satellite constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO) for satellite phone, low-speed data transmission and earth observation. The Globalstar second-generation constellation con ...
project, and at the peak owns a 42% share in the company. * 1994 – Loral acquires
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
's Federal Systems Division, which becomes Loral Federal Systems. * May 5, 1995 – Loral acquires ''Paramax'', the defense unit of
Unisys Unisys Corporation is a global technology solutions company founded in 1986 and headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. The company provides cloud, AI, digital workplace, logistics, and enterprise computing services. History Founding Unis ...
, for $862 million in cash. * January 8, 1996 – Lockheed Martin agreed to purchase the defense electronics and system integration businesses of Loral for $9.1 billion. Loral becomes
Loral Space and Communications Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware-domiciled satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested i ...
. * October 5, 2007 – Loral Space & Communications Inc. and the Public Pension Investment Board of Canada received the final regulatory approval necessary to complete the acquisition of
Telesat Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company (law), company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa. History Founding and privatization (1969-2005) Telesat began in 1969 as Telesat C ...
from BCE Inc. for CAD $3.25 billion. The acquisition closed on October 31, 2007, with Loral owning 64 percent of Telesat.


Other acquisitions

* Fairchild-Weston * LTV Missiles * Solartron


Other past units

* Loral Aeronutronic (
Rancho Santa Margarita, California Rancho Santa Margarita is a city in Orange County, California, United States. One of Orange County's youngest cities, Rancho Santa Margarita is a planned community, master-planned community. The population was 47,853 at the 2010 census, up fro ...
) * Loral Command Control Systems * Loral Conic (
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
) * Loral Defense Systems (Akron, Ohio) * Loral Instrumentation (San Diego) * Loral/Liris * Loral
ROLM ROLM Corporation was a Silicon Valley technology company founded in 1969 by four electrical engineers: Gene Richeson, Ken Oshman, Walter Loewenstern, and Robert Maxfield. The company is best known for creating a computerized telephone switchi ...
Mil-Spec Computer Systems (
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
) * Loral Space Information Systems * Loral Space & Range Systems (
Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real (California), El Camino Real and U.S. Route 101 in California, Highway 1 ...
) * Loral Terracom (San Diego) * Loral
Vought Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace (part of Ling-Temco-Vought), Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought ...
Systems (
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) (now part of
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) is one of the four core business areas for American company Lockheed Martin. MFC provides air and missile defense systems; tactical missiles and air-to-ground precision strike weapon systems; logisti ...
) * Loral Narda * Loral Randtron * Loral Western Development Laboratories * Loral Infrared & Imaging Systems, LIRIS (
Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by ...
) * Loral Electro Optical Systems, LEOS (
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)


References


External links

* {{answers.com, loral-space-communications-ltd - Company History: Loral Space & Communications Ltd.
Loral Space & Communications Ltd. Company History
- from Funding Universe. Former Lockheed Martin companies
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Companies based in the Bronx Soundview, Bronx Manufacturing companies established in 1948 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1996 Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York City Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies