Western Development Laboratories

Western Development Laboratories (WDL) was originally a division of Philco, later becoming part of Ford Aerospace and then Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). SS/L, a manufacturer of satellite communications services, designed and built commercial satellites and spacecraft systems for commercial and government customers. Their products supported services like direct-to-home television, digital audio radio, and broadband internet. SS/L's major customers included DIRECTV, DISH Network/EchoStar, Intelsat, SES, and the U.S. Department of Defense.