Launch Date Set for Boeing-Built e-BIRD Communications Satellite

e-BIRD, the first satellite
built by Boeing for Eutelsat, S.A. of France, is set to launch on
Saturday, September 27. The Boeing 376HP model satellite was built by Boeing
Satellite Systems (BSS) in El Segundo, Calif.

The all-Ku-band satellite is the first spacecraft optimized for two-way
broadband Internet connectivity. Paris-based Eutelsat, one of the world’s
leading satellite operators, will deploy e-BIRD to serve users across a broad
region of Europe and Turkey from the satellite’s 33 degrees east orbital slot.

“Boeing is pleased to provide Eutelsat with a reliable, versatile
spacecraft combining a proven, spin-stabilized design with the most advanced
antenna ever used on a Boeing 376,” said Dave Ryan, president of Boeing
Satellite Systems International. “The Boeing 376 spacecraft model has a
heritage of quality, and I am confident that e-BIRD will support Eutelsat’s
drive to offer a diverse array of broadband applications via satellite.”

Arianespace will lift the satellite into orbit aboard an Ariane 5 rocket
from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana on the northeast coast
of South America. The 19-minute launch window opens at 4:02 p.m. PDT (23:02
GMT).

e-BIRD will be the 207th Boeing-built commercial communications satellite
launched to date. Forty years ago this year, the Boeing-built Syncom ushered
in a revolution as the world’s first geosynchronous communications satellite.
Like Syncom, e-BIRD will use spin-stabilization to remain on station in proper
attitude above the Earth.

e-BIRD carries 20 active transponders and is designed to generate a
minimum of 1,600 watts of power through the end of its 10-year service life.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of
the world’s largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis,
Boeing IDS is a $25 billion business that provides systems solutions to its
global military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading provider
of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the world’s largest military
aircraft manufacturer; the world’s largest satellite manufacturer and a
leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator
for U.S. missile defense; NASA’s largest contractor; and a global leader in
launch services.

For an electronic version of this release with photos, visit:
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2003/q3/nr_030924m.html