Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB)
announced
today that is has shipped the OrbView-4 high-resolution imaging satellite,
which
it developed and produced for its Orbital Imaging Corporation (ORBIMAGE)
affiliate, from its Germantown, Maryland satellite manufacturing facility to
the
mission launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California. Orbital
also announced that the mission’s secondary satellite, the QuikTOMS science
spacecraft, which the company built for NASA, has already arrived at VAFB
after
being shipped late last week. Both satellites will be launched aboard the
company’s Taurus rocket, which is currently planned for mid-August.

While at VAFB, both satellites will undergo post-shipment tests and will be
integrated with the Taurus rocket at Orbital’s facilities. A team of
Orbital,
ORBIMAGE and NASA engineers will then perform a series of pre-launch tests
to
ensure that all the systems of OrbView-4, QuikTOMS and Taurus are
functioning
together as planned.

About the OrbView-4 Satellite:

The Orbview-4 satellite that Orbital developed and built for ORBIMAGE will
be
one of the world’s first commercial satellite to provide high-resolution
imagery
from space. OrbView-4’s high-resolution camera will acquire one-meter
resolution panchromatic (black and white) and four-meter resolution
multispectral (color) imagery. In addition, OrbView-4 will be the world’s
first
commercial satellite to collect hyperspectral imagery. Hyperspectral
imagery
will be useful for classifying material types on the Earth’s surface, a
capability that will be beneficial in agricultural management, mineral
exploration, environmental monitoring and national security activities.

About the QuikTOMS Satellite:

The QuikTOMS satellite, which Orbital built for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight
Center, is based on the company’s flight-proven MicroStar spacecraft, on
which
about 40 in-orbit satellites have been based over the last six years.
Originally developed for the ORBCOMM data communications network, the
MicroStar
design has been readily adapted to missions for NASA, DARPA and several
commercial and international customers. The MicroStar platform has provided
cost
and schedule benefits to the QuikTOMS program through the use of mature
designs,
automated manufacturing and test equipment, dedicated and experienced
personnel,
and established vendors.

About the TOMS Sensor:

Orbital’s Sensor Systems Division has built five Total Ozone Monitoring
System
(TOMS) sensors for NASA, including the one that will operate aboard the
QuikTOMS
satellite. Flown on U.S., Russian and Japanese satellites beginning in the
early
1980’s, these instruments have enabled the international scientific
community to
better understand the Earth’s ozone layer and the factors that alter
atmospheric
ozone distribution. The last Orbital-built TOMS sensor, launched aboard a
NASA
Earth Probe satellite in 1996, is still operating flawlessly, providing not
only
the most widely used ozone data, but also information on aerosol particles
from
desert dust storms, forest fires and biomass burning, as well as UV-B
radiation,
a potential cause of skin cancer, and Earth surface and cloud reflectance,
key
components of total ozone calculations.

About Orbital:

Orbital develops and manufactures affordable space systems, including
satellites, launch vehicles, sensors and electronics, and advanced systems.
Orbital is also involved with satellite-based networks that provide wireless
data communications and high-resolution Earth imagery to customers all
around
the world.

More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com