McDonnell May Have Won Rocket Order : Communications: Confirmation of the $400-million satellite-launching contract is expected Thursday.

McDonnell Douglas Corp. would not comment Tuesday on a published report that it has won a $400-million order to launch 40 communications satellites for Iridium, a proposed mobile phone communications system.

McDonnell Douglas and other rocket manufacturers across the United States and around the world are in hot competition for a limited number of commercial launch orders. Winning the Iridium contract would give a big boost to the company’s Huntington Beach operations, where about 1,500 employees assemble Delta rockets. Another 200 employees work on the rockets at a site in Florida, and a handful more do final assembly of Delta rockets at a facility in Pueblo, Colo.

McDonnell Douglas and Motorola, the lead company in the Iridium consortium, will make a “major news announcement” during a news conference Thursday at Vandenburg Air Force Base, McDonnell Douglas spokeswoman Anne McCauley said. During that session, Motorola will “provide significant details about our relationship with McDonnell Douglas,” Motorola spokeswoman Stephanie Nowack said. Neither company would comment further.

Motorola previously announced that a handful of launches would be provided by rockets manufactured in Russia and China.

The $3.3-billion Iridium project would use 66 satellites to create a telecommunications system that would compete with conventional cable telephone lines and fiber-optic systems. About half a dozen competing space-based telecommunications systems have been proposed by different groups.