The Sea Launch vessels arrived at the
equatorial launch site this afternoon and immediately began the L-72 hour
countdown to launch XM-1, the “Roll” satellite, on Tuesday, May 8.

The 45-minute launch window will open at 3:10 p.m. (PDT) on May 8 for
liftoff of the second of two digital audio radio satellites, called “Rock”
and “Roll.” Boeing Satellite Systems, the world’s leading provider of
commercial communications satellites, built the powerful satellites for XM
Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR) of Washington, D.C. The Boeing 702 models
will each generate 18 kilowatts of total power at the beginning of life in
orbit.

The Odyssey Launch Platform is ballasting to its launch depth – about 65
feet – in preparation for launch operations. This depth provides stability
for the floating platform’s marine and launch environments. The Sea Launch
Commander, known as the Assembly and Command Ship, is currently alongside
the Odyssey and will be connected by a “link bridge” during launch
preparations. At the time of launch, the Ship will move to a launch position
of 3.5 miles from the Platform, with crews from both vessels aboard for
operations safety. The launch site is located on the Equator in open waters
of the South Pacific, at 154 West Longitude.

The Sea Launch Zenit-3SL launch vehicle will loft the 10,289 lb (4,672 kg)
payload to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, with the spacecraft separating
from the upper stage at an altitude of about 1,600 miles above the Indian
Ocean. Once in space, “Roll” will be positioned in Geostationary Orbit,
35,786 km (22,236 miles) above the Earth, at 85 degrees West Longitude.
Designed for a 15-year lifespan, “Rock” and “Roll” will transmit up to 100
channels of digital radio across the United States, including music, news,
sports, talk, comedy and children’s programming.

Sea Launch will provide a live satellite broadcast and simultaneous webcast
of the launch on May 8, beginning at 2:50 p.m. PDT. The program will include
a live video transmission from the Equator and commentary from a studio at
Sea Launch Home Port in Long Beach. Viewers in the United States may
downlink the launch in NTSC from: GE 3C Transponder 12; C-Band Analog;
Orbital Position 87 degrees (w); Downlink Frequency 3940 MHz (v).

DirecTV will also broadcast the launch on Viewer Channel #361. The live
webcast may be accessed at: http://www.sea-launch.com Members of the print
and broadcast media seeking information and high-resolution images are
directed to a media-specific site at:
http://www.boeing.com/nosearch/sealaunch/index.html

Press Contact: Paula Korn, 562.499.4729, paula.korn@sea-launch.com
On the afternoon of launch day only: Dan Beck, 562.951.7388 or 562.951.7038