A powerful Boeing 702
satellite built for XM Satellite Radio Inc., was successfully launched
today from the Sea Launch Company’s Odyssey Launch Platform on the
equator.

The spacecraft was built by Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS), a unit
of The Boeing Company .

Dubbed “Roll,” the spacecraft lifted off aboard a Sea Launch Zenit
3SL rocket at 3:10 p.m. PDT (6:10 p.m. EDT and 10:10 p.m. GMT). Roll’s
first signals were received about 70 minutes later from the Perth,
Australia ground station, indicating that all systems are operating
normally.

Roll is the second of two BSS satellites launched this year for XM
Satellite Radio Inc., Washington D.C. . The first
satellite, “Rock,” was launched on March 18. Once in service, the XM
Satellite Radio system will deliver up to 100 channels of
digital-quality music, news and information to XM radios across the
United States.

“Congratulations to everyone involved in launching the second BSS
spacecraft for XM Satellite Radio,” said Randy Brinkley, president of
Boeing Satellite Systems. “We are proud to support our customer’s
business objectives and to see our technology enable this leap to the
next generation of digital radio.”

XM’s satellites are designed to provide 18 kilowatts of total
spacecraft power at beginning of life. Each of the satellite’s two
solar wings employ five panels of high-efficiency, dual-junction
gallium arsenide solar cells developed by Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab
Inc. When fully deployed, the solar wings span 132.5 feet.

XM Roll will operate in geosynchronous orbit at 85 degrees West
longitude. Like XM Rock, it carries a digital audio radio payload
built by Alcatel Space Industries. The payload features two active
transponders, each with 16 active (and six spare) 228-watt traveling
wave tube amplifiers generating approximately 3,000 watts of RF signal
power, making these the most powerful commercial transponders ever
built. The satellite has two 16.4 foot folding deployable S-band
transmit reflectors and one X-band global receive antenna.

To provide 15 years’ service, the Boeing 702 carries the
flight-proven xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS) for all on-orbit
maneuvering. The XIPS were built by Boeing Electron Dynamic Devices
Inc.

XM will transform radio, an industry that has seen little
technological change since FM, almost 40 years ago. XM will create and
package up to 100 channels of digital-quality sound and provide
coast-to-coast coverage of music, news, sports, talk, comedy and
children’s programming. XM won several awards at the International
Consumer Electronics Show in January, including “Best of CES” in the
automotive category. Service is scheduled to begin this summer.

XM-ready radios are being manufactured by such household names as
Sony, Alpine, Pioneer, Clarion, Blaupunkt, Delphi-Delco, Visteon,
Panasonic and Sanyo; and are available for sale by retailers including
Circuit City, Best Buy, Sears, RadioShack franchisee dealer stores
and Crutchfield.

XM’s strategic investors include America’s leading car, radio and
satellite TV companies — General Motors, American Honda Motor Co.
Inc., Clear Channel Communications, DIRECTV and Motient Corporation
, the company’s largest shareholder. XM has a long-term
distribution agreement with General Motors to integrate XM radios into
its vehicles commencing in 2001. For more information, visit the XM
Web site at www.xmradio.com.

Alcatel builds next-generation networks, delivering integrated
end-to-end voice and data networking solutions to established and new
carriers as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 130,000
employees and sales of EURO 31 billion in 2000, Alcatel operates in
more than 130 countries.

Boeing Satellite Systems Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer
of commercial communications satellites, and is also a major provider
of space systems, satellites, and payloads for national defense,
science and environmental applications.

The Boeing Company, with headquarters in Seattle, is the largest
aerospace company in the world and the United States’ leading
exporter. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial
jetliners and military aircraft, and the largest NASA contractor. The
company’s capabilities in aerospace also include rotorcraft,
electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch
vehicles, and advanced information and communication systems. The
company has an extensive global reach with customers in 145 countries
and manufacturing operations throughout the United States, Canada and
Australia.