AEROSPACE

Loral, Arianespace Sign Satellite Pact: The U.S. company and the European aerospace consortium plan to launch five commercial satellites through 2000. As part of the agreement, Loral satellites will be launched on an Ariane 5 launcher in the first half of 1998 and in four other flights through the end of the decade. The exact payloads of each launch have yet to be determined, said Robert Berry, president of Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications Ltd. The value of the contract was not disclosed.