With an important new contract, Orbital
Sciences
Corporation has solidified its place as a major supplier in the
world market for geosynchronous orbit (GEO) communications satellites.
Today,
Orbital announced that PanAmSat Corporation (NASDAQ: SPOT), which owns and
operates the world’s largest private fleet of commercial GEO communications
satellites, has selected the company to supply one C-band GEO satellite,
with an
option for two additional similar spacecraft.

“We are honored to be chosen by PanAmSat to build their next-generation of
C-band fixed service satellites,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s
Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer. “Orbital has successfully carved out a solid
niche
in the world’s GEO satellite market with an approach that could best be
summarized as ‘bigger is not always better.’ Orbital produces a ‘right
size’
satellite to best fit the business needs of our customers.”

“For over a decade, Orbital has been successful in applying this strategy to
its
family of launch vehicles and low-orbit satellites that have developed an
industry-wide reputation for reliability and cost efficiency. We are now
driving full speed ahead to duplicate that same level of success with our
innovative GEO satellite products,” Mr. Thompson added.

“As we continue to expand our North American fleet, PanAmSat will require
satellites that are able to fulfill the current and future needs of our
customers, while ideally complementing our existing network,” said Mr. R.
Douglas Kahn, PanAmSat’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Orbital’s
geostationary satellites were the most appropriate match for the types of
advanced services they will provide our customers as well as the markets
they
will serve and the orbital locations they will occupy.”

Dr. Ali Atia, President of Orbital’s communications satellite group, said,
“Perhaps as significant as the contract itself, PanAmSat’s order validates
Orbital’s capabilities in providing smaller-size, more affordable GEO
satellites
at a time when much of the industry is moving toward larger and more
expensive
spacecraft.”

Orbital is currently in various stages of building and launching several
other
GEO satellites for additional top-tier customers. The company recently
launched
and deployed the first of two new geostationary communications satellites to
be
delivered to Japan’s Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) this
year. The BSAT-2a satellite was launched into orbit on March 8 aboard an
Ariane
5 rocket. The initial in-orbit checkout of the spacecraft has been fully
successful, with all data indicating that the satellite is operating as
expected. Its sister satellite, BSAT-2b, is scheduled to be launched in
mid-2001.

Orbital is also working on another GEO satellite program, the N-STAR c
mobile
communications spacecraft for Japan’s NTT DoCoMo. On that program, Orbital
is
partnered with Lockheed Martin Corporation, the program’s prime contractor,
to
provide the satellite platform, perform the integration of the payload with
the
satellite bus, conduct pre-and post-shipment testing and arrange for launch
services. Orbital expects to deliver the bus and complete most of the
pre-launch testing activities prior to the end of 2001.

“At Orbital, we strongly appreciate the importance of PanAmSat’s business,”
said
Mr. Mesut Ciceker, Vice President of Business Development for Orbital’s
communications satellite group. “We are most excited and highly motivated
to
enter into this long term partnership with PanAmSat and contribute to their
success.”

Orbital’s GEO satellites are based on the company’s “STAR” family of smaller
GEO
satellite platforms, which are able to accommodate most types of commercial
communications payloads. For many applications, the STAR design is an
attractive alternative to the larger, more costly GEO satellites offered by
the
industry’s traditional suppliers. The STAR satellites are smaller and are
significantly less expensive to build and launch. They are a perfect fit
for
customers in the early stages of building their business or established
companies that wish to add incremental capacity to their network.

About PanAmSat:

PanAmSat 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 TV operators, Internet service providers,
telecommunications companies and corporations. With 20 spacecraft in orbit
today, PanAmSat has the world’s largest commercial geostationary satellite
network. The company will expand its global fleet to 22 spacecraft by
year-end
2001. PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by HUGHES Electronics Corporation (NYSE:
GMH). For more information on PanAmSat, visit the company’s web site at
http://www.panamsat.com.

About Orbital:

Orbital is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of low-cost space
systems,
including satellites, launch vehicles, space sensors and satellite ground
systems. Its Magellan subsidiary offers the industry’s broadest line of
GPS-enabled navigation and positioning products for consumer and industrial
markets. Through its relationships with ORBCOMM, ORBIMAGE and ORBNAV,
Orbital is
also involved with satellite-based networks that provide data
communications,
high-resolution imagery and automotive information services to customers
around
the world.