During the night of March 21 to 22,
2000, Arianespace Flight 128 successfully placed two telecommunications
satellites into orbit: AsiaStar for Alcatel Space, WorldSpace prime contractor
and system architect, and Insat 3B for the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO).

With this mission, the second commercial launch of Ariane 5, Arianespace
continues to offer customers reliable, available launch services, designed to
meet all mission requirements.

Since December 1999, Arianespace has launched a total of seven satellites
using four Ariane 4 and two Ariane 5 launchers: one scientific satellite into
elliptical orbit, one Earth observation satellite (along with an auxiliary
passenger) into sun-synchronous orbit, and five communications satellites into
geostationary transfer orbit.

Ariane 5 gives operators the benefits of dual launches

With Ariane 5, the first new-generation heavy lift launcher to enter
service, Arianespace brings the advantages of dual launches to new high-power
satellites. The ability to launch two satellites on a single mission has built
the success and international reputation of the Ariane family of launch
vehicles over the past 20 years. Ariane 5’s extremely accurate orbital
injection on Flight 128 confirms the high-quality service that Arianespace
continues to deliver to all customers.

     Flight 128 launcher      Ariane 5
                              5th Ariane 5 out of 36 ordered from the European
                              space industry
     Launch site              ELA-3 complex, Guiana Space Center, the European
                              Spaceport, Kourou, French Guiana

                                 Launch time
     8:28:19 pm          March 21            Kourou
     6:28:19 pm          March 21            Washington, D.C.
     23:28:19            March 21            GMT
     00:28:19 am         March 22            Paris
     4:58:19 am          March 22            New Delhi

                   AsiaStar - Alcatel Space for WorldSpace
     Digital direct broadcast satellite (sound, text, video)
     Matra Marconi Space Eurostar 2000+ platform
     Prime Contractor              Alcatel Space, Toulouse, France
     Operator                      WorldSpace Corp., Washington D.C., USA
     Mass at liftoff               2,777 kg (6,109 lb)
     Payload                       96 L-band transponders, at 16 kbps
     Position                      105 degrees East, over the Indian Ocean,
                                   above Singapore
     Coverage                      Asia

                Insat 3B - Indian Space Research Organisation
     Seventh Indian telecommunications satellite orbited by Arianespace
     Ariane will launch an eighth ISRO satellite, Insat 3A, by the end of the
     year.
     Prime Contractor              ISRO, Bangalore, India
     Operator                      Indian Department of Space
     Mass at liftoff               2,070 kg (4,554 lb)
     Payload                       12 extended C-band transponders; 3 Ku-band
                                   transponders; 1 SSM transponder for mobile
                                   services
     Position                      83 degrees East, over the Indian Ocean
     Coverage                      India

                Orbital parameters (at third stage injection)
                          Actual                 Target
     Perigee             558 km              559 km (+/- 3)
     Apogee              35,763 km           35,881 km (+/- 260)
     Inclination         6.99 degrees        7.00 degrees (+/- 0.06 degrees)

The next launch, Flight 129, is planned for April 18, 2000. An Ariane 42L
launcher will place into orbit the Galaxy 4R satellite for PanAmSat
Corporation of the United States.

Following Flight 128, Arianespace’s backlog now stands at 39 satellites to
be launched. Arianespace has booked a total of 209 launch contracts to date.