M'BISHI ELEC TO SUPPLY SPACE STATION DOCKING SYSTEM TO U.S. FIRM

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (TSE:6503) said Thursday that it has received an order worth roughly six billion yen (US$65.7 million) from U.S. firm Orbital Sciences Corp. for components necessary to guide supply ships to the International Space Station (ISS).

The systems were developed for the H-II Transfer Vehicle, Japan's first unmanned space cargo transporter, which successfully completed its first mission last month.

Orbital Sciences, a major space systems manufacturer, will use components in its Cygnus Spacecraft. This space vehicle is to carry out re-supply missions for the ISS after the space shuttle program winds down in 2010.

Mitsubishi Electric is to supply nine sets of proximity link system components to Orbital Sciences between 2010 and 2014.

Mitsubishi Electric hopes the order from Orbital Sciences will help it achieve a doubling of annual sales of satellite- and other space-related products to 150 billion yen within the next 10 years.

(Nikkei) rw

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