Germany's OHB to win Galileo space contract - source

PARIS Dec 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission looks poised to award an initial contract for satellites for its Galileo navigation system to a team led by Germany's OHB Technology (OHBG.DE), rejecting a rival offer from a consortium led by EADS (EAD.PA) Astrium, an industry source said.

"It looks as if Astrium have lost the first tranche," the source said, referring to an order for 8 out of 22 satellites to be built for Europe's planned alternative to the U.S. Global Positioning System network.

None of the parties was immediately available for comment.

Space News reported last week that the Astrium-led group was expected to lose the contract worth about 350 million euros ($516.3 million), which it had been tipped by industry analysts to win. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Caroline Jacobs)