Washington, D.C.; February 18, 2003 – Orbital Recovery Corporation has selected PricewaterhouseCoopers as its financial advisor, with responsibility for leading the company through its final funding round for the unique new Geosynch Spacecraft Life Extension System (SLES) “space tug.”

In addition, PricewaterhouseCoopers will assist Orbital Recovery Corporation in developing its customer base for the SLES  a spacecraft designed to extend the useful lifetime of multi-million dollar telecommunications satellites by 10 years or more, and which also is capable of rescuing satellites stranded in incorrect orbits. 

“We are pleased to have the services of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is a worldwide reference in business services,” Orbital Recovery Corp. Chief Executive Officer Walt Anderson said. “Our final funding round will cover Orbital Recovery Corporation’s operations for three years and the first two SLES missions  which will take us to profitability.”

Orbital Recovery Corporation already has raised in excess of $1 million, which has funded the design, definition and validation of the SLES design, as well as ongoing operations in 2003.

Operating as an orbital “tugboat,” the SLES will supply the propulsion, navigation and guidance to maintain a telecommunications satellite in its proper orbital slot for many years. Currently, telecommunications spacecraft are junked as they deplete their on-board propellant loads near the end of the typical 10-15-year operation lifetimes, even though the satellites’ revenue-generating communications relay payloads continue to function. 

Orbital Recovery Corporation has identified more than 40 telecommunications satellites in orbit today that are candidates for life extension using the SLES.

In addition, the SLES will be used to rescue spacecraft that have been placed in a wrong orbit by their launch vehicles, or which have become stranded in an incorrect orbital location during positioning maneuvers.

The SLES is designed to easily mate with all telecommunications satellites now in space or on the drawing boards. After launch, the SLES will rendezvous with the telecommunications platform, approaching it from below for docking. The linkup will use a docking system that connects to the telecom satellite’s apogee kick motor.

Control of the SLES will be handled by Orbital Recovery Corporation following the space tug’s launch and during its initial free-flight phase. Docking and checkout of the SLES with the telecommunications satellite will be a joint effort of Orbital Recovery Corporation and the telecom satellite operator. Once the docking and checkout has been completed, long-term control will be handed over to the satellite operator – with technical support and service by Orbital Recovery Corporation throughout the operating lifetime.

Orbital Recovery Corp. is in the process of assembling the industrial team that will produce the SLES.  Robotic technology from the DLR German Aerospace Center has been selected for the SLES docking and linkup, and Aon Space is providing insurance brokering and risk management services.

Orbital Recovery Corp. has offices in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in the United States, and its Asia-Pacific operations are handled by the company’s Sydney, Australia office. 

More information on Orbital Recovery Corp. is available on the company’s Web site: www.orbitalrecovery.com.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is the world’s largest professional services organization. It uses the skills of more than 125,000 people in 142 countries, and builds relationships by providing services based on quality and integrity.  See the PricewaterhouseCoopers Web site for additional details (www.pwcglobal.com).

Press & media contact:

Jeffrey Lenorovitz
The InfoWEST Group
(Media relations agency for Orbital Recovery Corporation)
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