PARIS — TRW Inc. has suspended its work on the Astrolink broadband satellite program following TRW and Lockheed Martin Corp. management decisions not to invest further in the venture, according to industry officials.

The two companies are among the founding investors in Astrolink, a planned high-speed Internet connection service based on a constellation of four large geostationary satellites. A total of $1.3 billion already has been raised for the project.

Timothy W. Hannemann, TRW executive vice president and general manager of TRW's Space & Electronics Group of Redondo Beach, Calif., informed his division on Oct. 26 that, in light of Lockheed Martin's decision, TRW would stop work on Astrolink. TRW, which has invested $250 million in Astrolink and is an equity shareholder in the venture, has been building the satellite's electronics payloads.

"Without [Lockheed Martin's] investment, Astrolink is no longer able to fund construction of the system," Hannemann said in an e-mail to TRW Space & Electronics employees, a copy of which was obtained by Space News. "Consequently, we are developing a plan to bring the TRW Space and Electronics Astrolink payload program to conclusion in the very near future.

"We are greatly disappointed by this development, which is largely due to the state of the financial markets," Hannemann said in the note.

TRW spokeswoman Sally Koris on Oct. 30 declined to comment on Hannemann's statements and also would not comment on TRW's Astrolink work.

TRW President and Chief Executive David M. Cote said during an Oct. 17 conference call with financial analysts that TRW was "not interested in putting a lot of additional cash into Astrolink. But it's [Astrolink's] call on how they're going to finance it."

That eliminated one potential source of financing for Astrolink, which has been searching for additional investors since late 1999.

On Oct. 26, Lockheed Martin said it too is unwilling to invest beyond the $400 million it has already spent on Astrolink.

In a conference call with analysts, Lockheed Martin Chief Financial Officer Christopher E. Kubasic said Lockheed Martin informed the Astrolink partners that "our company does not plan to make any further investment in this venture."

Kubasic said Lockheed Martin would be willing to help Astrolink seek other investors. "We are hopeful that Astrolink management can find partners to continue the venture," he said.

Lockheed Martin was prime contractor for the four Astrolink satellites, two of which were actively under construction. Lockheed Martin also was scheduled to launch the four spacecraft.