PALO ALTO, Calif., July 10, 2009 Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (Nasdaq:LORL) and the world’s leading provider of high-power commercial satellites, today announced that it shipped a new communications satellite built for Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) to the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, where it is scheduled to launch in early- to mid-August aboard a ILS Proton Breeze M launch vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS).
“We are very proud of being able to contribute to the continuing success of AsiaSat with the delivery of the AsiaSat 5 satellite,” said John Celli, President and Chief Operating Officer of Space Systems/Loral. “With the proven reliability of the SS/L 1300 platform, we have built an excellent tool to help this first class regional operator enhance and expand its business.”
AsiaSat 5, a Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) spacecraft, is designed to provide television broadcast, telephone networks, and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia services across the Asia Pacific region. AsiaSat 5 will replace AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East longitude and will help the operator enhance its services and expand its business.
“We are very pleased that the satellite is being shipped to the Baikonur launch base and we are looking forward to traveling to Kazakhstan for the August launch,” said Peter Jackson, chief executive officer of AsiaSat. “Our collaboration with Space Systems/Loral on this project has been very positive, and we expect to benefit from the company’s long heritage of reliability in FSS satellites.”
AsiaSat 5 carries 26 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders. The C-band expands on the AsiaSat 2 pan-Asian coverage, and the Ku-band coverage consists of three high-power beams, two of which will cover East Asia and South Asia as well as the in-orbit steerable beam that can be positioned to provide service anywhere within the satellite’s view. The satellite is based on SS/L’s 1300 space-proven platform, which provides the flexibility to support a broad range of applications and technology advances.
About AsiaSat
AsiaSat, the leading regional satellite operator in Asia, serves over two-thirds of the world’s population with its three satellites, AsiaSat 2 at 100.5:oE, AsiaSat 3S at 105.5:oE, and AsiaSat 4 at 122:oE. The AsiaSat satellite system provides services to both the broadcast and telecommunications industries. Over 300 television and radio channels are now delivered by the company’s satellites, reaching over 96 million households, with more than 360 million viewers across the Asia Pacific region. Many telecommunications customers use AsiaSat for services such as public telephone networks, private VSAT networks, and broadband multimedia services. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited, a company listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK:1135). In March and June of this year, AsiaSat was selected the ‘Best Asian Satellite Carrier’ and the ‘Satellite Service Provider of the Year in Asia Pacific’ respectively by Telecom Asia magazine and Frost & Sullivan. For more information, please visit www.asiasat.com.
About Space Systems/Loral
Based in Palo Alto, California, SS/L designs and builds satellites and spacecraft systems for commercial and government customers around the world. As the leading provider of commercial satellites, the company works closely with satellite operators to deliver spacecraft for a broad range of services including direct-to-home television, digital audio radio, broadband Internet, and digital multimedia broadcasting. With more active transponders on three-axis controlled spacecraft than any other satellite manufacturer, SS/L helps customers meet business objectives with advanced solutions based on space-proven heritage designs. For more information, visit www.ssloral.com.
About Loral Space & Communications
Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. Through its Space Systems/Loral subsidiary, the company is a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite systems for commercial and government applications including direct-to-home television, broadband communications, wireless telephony, weather monitoring, and air traffic management. Loral also owns 64 percent of Telesat, one of the world’s largest providers of satellite services. Telesat operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites used to broadcast video entertainment programming, distribute direct-to-home video and broadband data services, and other value-added communications services. For more information, visit Loral’s web site at www.loral.com. LORL-G
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “believes,” “expects,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “project,” “intend” or “outlook” or other variations of these words or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. In addition, Loral Space & Communications Inc., Space Systems/Loral, Inc. or their representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing, which may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and press releases or oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer of the company. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results as a result of certain risks and uncertainties which are described as “Risk Factors” and in the “Commitments and Contingencies” note to the financial statements in Loral’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q. The reader is specifically referred to these documents, as well as the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to (1) risks associated with financial factors, including the global economic downturn, our history of losses and financial covenants in SS/L’s credit agreement; (2) risks associated with satellite manufacturing, including competition, contractual risks, creditworthiness of customers, performance of suppliers and management of our factory and personnel; (3) regulatory risks, such as the effect of U.S. export control and economic sanction laws; and (4) other risks, including litigation. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Furthermore, Loral and SS/L operate in an industry sector where securities values may be volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond the control of Loral and SS/L.
