Boeing Wins Contract to Launch Satellites

Boeing Co. won a $54-million contract to launch four navigation satellites for the Air Force in the second exception to a ban imposed on the company last year.

The decision to use Boeing’s Delta II rockets for the launch was made because the global positioning system satellites were a “compelling national interest,” said Maj. Karen Finn, spokeswoman for the Air Force.

Chicago-based Boeing’s suspension remains in effect until it convinces the Air Force that it has resolved problems that resulted in the improper taking of documents from Lockheed Martin Corp. to help it win a launch contract in 1998.