Spacecraft’s Spot-Beam Technology to Help DIRECTV Add Local Channels in U.S. Markets

SEAL BEACH, CA., November 19, 2001- DIRECTV-4S, a Boeing 601HP satellite
built for DIRECTV, Inc., is scheduled for launch on Monday, Nov. 26. The
satellite was built by Boeing Space and Communications, the world’s leading
satellite manufacturer and a business of The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA).
DIRECTV-4S will be the sixth Boeing-built satellite launched this year and
the 61st Boeing 601 spacecraft launched to date.

DIRECTV-4S will be launched by Arianespace aboard an Ariane 44LP rocket from
the Guiana Space Center on the northeast coast of South America. The
38-minute launch window opens at 9:35 p.m. at the launch site (4:35 p.m.
PST; 12:35 a.m. Nov. 27 GMT).

DIRECTV-4S will be stationed with other DIRECTV satellites at 101 degrees
West longitude. DIRECTV-4S is designed to provide the DIRECTVÆ digital
satellite television service with more than 300 channels of additional
capacity. DIRECTV will use that capacity to deliver additional local
channels and to strengthen the redundancy of its in-orbit fleet.

“In addition to being the largest Boeing 601HP spacecraft we’ve built,
DIRECTV-4S will also be a terrific example of leading-edge Boeing technology
tailored to serve our customer’s business needs,” said Boeing Satellite
Systems President Randy H. Brinkley. “Delivering local channels to
individual TV markets is an important part of DIRECTV’s service, and their
ability to do so will be significantly expanded by the spot-beam technology
we designed and built into DIRECTV-4S.”

This will be the fifth Boeing-built satellite deployed by DIRECTV and the
first spacecraft in the DIRECTV fleet to employ spot beams. This technology
reuses the same frequencies on multiple spot beams to reach the major
television markets where DIRECTV delivers the signals of local network
affiliates.

“DIRECTV-4S and its Boeing spot beam technology is an investment that will
benefit our customers and enhance our growth in the 41 markets where we
offer local channels,” said Roxanne Austin, president and COO, DIRECTV, Inc.
“DIRECTV and the Boeing satellite manufacturing team have established an
enviable record of technological leadership that continues to set us apart
in the satellite television industry.”

DIRECTV-4S will also be the world’s first commercial satellite to employ
high-efficiency solar arrays with triple-junction gallium arsenide solar
cells built by Spectrolab, Inc., a BSS subsidiary. These solar cells are
called triple-junction because they employ a three-layered structure, with
each layer able to capture and convert a different portion of the solar
spectrum. The DIRECTV-4S solar cells will be able to convert 24.5 percent of
the sun’s energy into electricity. The spacecraft’s two solar arrays are
together designed to deliver 8.3 kilowatts of power at the end of its
15-year design life.

The spacecraft will carry two Ku-band payloads: spot beams for local
channels, and a national beam payload. The spot beam payload will use a
total of 38 traveling wave-tube amplifiers (TWTAs) ranging in power from 30
to 88 watts. The national beam payload will carry two active transponders
with further capability for two active high-power transponders and six
active low-power transponders.

Once deployed, the DIRECTV-4S solar arrays will measure more than 85 feet
long from tip to tip, and its antennas will span 24.5 feet in width. The
spacecraft fully fueled at launch will weigh 9,400 lbs. (4,260 kg) at
launch.

DIRECTV is the nation’s leading digital satellite television service
provider with more than 10.3 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone
Design logo are trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics
Corp. HUGHES is the world’s leading provider of digital television
entertainment, broadband services, satellite-based private business
networks, and global video and data broadcasting. The earnings of HUGHES, a
unit of General Motors Corporation, are used to calculate the earnings per
share attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE: GMH).
For more information, visit www.DIRECTV.com.

Boeing Space and Communications is the world’s leading manufacturer of
commercial communications satellites, and is also a major provider of space
systems, satellites, and payloads for national defense, science and
environmental applications.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is the largest aerospace company in the world
and the United States’ leading exporter. It is NASA’s largest contractor and
the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft. The
company’s capabilities in aerospace also include rotorcraft, electronic and
defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch vehicles, satellites, and
advanced information and communication systems. The company has an extensive
global reach with customers in 145 countries.

###

Media Contact: George Torres

310-364-5777

george.torres@boeing.com

Note to editors: Live video of the launch will be carried on the Telstar 4
satellite, transponder #22, C-band. You are welcome to use the feed in your
news broadcasts. Quicktime video clips of a spacecraft deployment animation
and other taped construction milestones are available for download at Note
to editors: Live video of the launch will be carried on the Telstar 4
satellite, transponder #22, C-band. You are welcome to use the feed in your
news broadcasts. Quicktime video clips of a spacecraft deployment animation
and other taped construction milestones are available for download at
http://www.hughespace.com/.