PAS-1R, a
Boeing 702 spacecraft with twice the capacity of the satellite it is
replacing, is scheduled for launch Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2000, it was
announced today by Boeing Satellite Systems Inc. (BSS), formerly
Hughes Space and Communications Co. BSS is a unit of The Boeing
Co. .

PAS-1R, built for PanAmSat Corp., will be launched aboard an
Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport, on
the northeast coast of South America. The 56-minute launch window
opens at 10:07 p.m. at the launch site, or 5:07 p.m. PST and 1:07 a.m.
GMT on Wednesday, Nov. 15. PAS-1R is the second Boeing 702 in the
PanAmSat fleet. The first, Galaxy XI, was launched in December 1999.

PAS-1R will replace PAS-1, the PanAmSat satellite placed into
orbit 12 years ago as the first global communications system operated
by private industry rather than a global government-run satellite
system. That satellite, now nearing the end of its life, is credited
with spawning the international commercial satellite communications
revolution during the past decade. Its replacement, PAS-1R, will
continue to set precedent by providing video, data and Internet
services to four continents from its slot over the Atlantic Ocean.

“With PAS-1R, Boeing Satellite Systems is once again raising the
bar on satellite capabilities,” stated Tig H. Krekel, president of
Boeing Satellite Systems. “This 702 spacecraft can deliver dozens of
cable channels throughout Latin America, as well as broadcast billions
of bits of digital video and data throughout the Americas, Europe and
Africa. PAS-1R will provide broadband access to rural and remote areas
and broadcast Internet content to potentially thousands of locations
simultaneously.

“It does it all,” Krekel added, “video, direct-to-home,
telecommunications and Internet services.”

The PAS-1R satellite will carry 72 active transponders: 36 in
Ku-band and 36 in C-band. That is twice the capacity of PAS-1. The
36-transponder C-band payload uses 34-watt solid state amplifiers and
55-watt traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) for general
telecommunications traffic such as voice, data and television relay.
The 36 Ku-band transponders employ 125-watt and 140-watt TWTAs for
direct-to-user services.

At launch the satellite will weigh 10,571 pounds. Once in orbit,
PAS-1R will weigh 6,730 pounds and measure 134 feet in length and
27 feet in width with its solar panels and antennas deployed.

Standard on the Boeing 702 is the advanced xenon ion propulsion
system (XIPS(TM)), which provides 10 times greater efficiency than
conventional liquid bipropellant fuel systems. Four 25-cm thrusters
will provide PAS-1R with economical attitude control, using only 5 kg
of fuel per year — a fraction of what bipropellant systems consume.

The satellite’s power is derived from two solar wings, each with
five panels of dual-junction gallium arsenide solar cells. These
high-efficiency cells supply twice the power of traditional silicon
cells. PAS-1R will have 14.3 kW of power at end of life.

PAS-1R will operate from an orbital slot of 45 degrees West
longitude. The 22nd satellite in the PanAmSat fleet, it will provide
services to a broad range of customers including Citibank, Reuters,
Vitacom and DIRECTV(TM) Latin America, among others.

PanAmSat Corp. , based in Greenwich, Conn., is a
leading provider of global video and data broadcasting services via
satellite The company builds, owns and operates networks that deliver
entertainment and information to cable television systems, TV
broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service
providers, telecommunications companies and corporations.

BSS is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial
communications satellites and a major provider of space systems,
satellites, and payloads for national defense, science and
environmental applications. The company was formed in October 2000
when Boeing acquired the Hughes Electronics satellite manufacturing
companies, which included Hughes Space and Communications Co., Hughes
Electron Dynamics, Spectrolab Inc. and Hughes Electronics’ 50 percent
share of HRL Laboratories.

The Boeing Co., with headquarters in Seattle, is the largest
aerospace company in the world and the United States’ leading
exporter. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial
jetliners and military aircraft, and the largest NASA contractor. The
company’s capabilities in aerospace also include rotorcraft,
electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch
vehicles, and advanced information and communication systems.

The company has an extensive global reach with customers in 145
countries and manufacturing operations throughout the United States,
Canada and Australia. At year-end 1999, Boeing and its subsidiaries
employed 197,100 people.

TV Editors: Live video of the launch will be carried in English on
the Galaxy IV satellite, transponder No. 12 in C-band. You are welcome
to use the feed in your news broadcasts.