Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, has received an 18-month follow-on contract from Boeing to provide Ka-band antennas for the fourth Inmarsat Global Xpress® satellite.

The announcement was made during the SATELLITE 2014 Conference and Exhibition, being held March 10-13 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

The satellite is part of Inmarsat's $1.6 billion investment in Global Xpress - the world's first globally available, high-bandwidth, Ka-band network delivered by a single operator.

In orbit, the Harris antennas will direct 89 Ka-band user spot beams to the Earth creating a unique, mobile broadband network with high-speed services for diverse applications - from deep-sea vessels to in-flight connectivity for airline passengers. Additional spot beams are available to provide dedicated service to users requiring specific coverage.

“The Harris antennas are important components in the Global Xpress satellite system, which is expected to provide global coverage by the end of 2014. We are committed to delivering discriminating solutions in support of the rapidly developing high-throughput satellite market,” said Bill Gattle, Vice President and General Manager, National Programs, Harris Government Communications Systems.

The Global Xpress antennas are part of Harris' flight-proven gimbal dish antenna systems, which enable beams to be steered to accommodate changing or increasing user demands. Harris has more than 30 years of experience designing, building and flying spaceborne antennas for government and commercial applications. Products include unfurlable mesh reflectors, gimbaled dish antennas and phased array antennas.