Ford Aerospace won a major satellite contract.

NASA selected Ford over two competitors to build a new generation of weather satellites for about $221 million. The losers were Hughes Aircraft’s Space & Communications Group and RCA’s Government Systems unit. Ford Aerospace & Communications’ Western Development Laboratories in Palo Alto will negotiate a cost-plus contract for three satellites and two spares, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said. The first of the spacecraft is to be launched in 1989.