Orbital Signs Contract to Build and Launch Japan’s BSAT-2c Direct Broadcast Satellite

New Contract Demonstrates Customer’s Confidence in Company’s Flight-Proven, Lightweight STAR GEO Satellite Platform

Orbital Sciences Corporation announced today that it has signed a contract to construct and
launch a geostationary (GEO) communications satellite for Japan’s Broadcasting
Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT).
The BSAT-2c satellite will be the third
spacecraft built by Orbital for B-SAT, an affiliate of Japan’s NHK and other
major private broadcast networks.
The BSAT-2c satellite is planned for launch
in the first quarter of 2003.
Financial terms of the contract were not
disclosed.

The BSAT-2c satellite design is based on Orbital’s “STAR” family of
lightweight GEO platforms, which are able to accommodate most types of
commercial communications payloads.
The flight-proven STAR platforms are an
attractive alternative to the larger, more expensive GEO satellites offered by
the industry’s traditional suppliers.
They are smaller and significantly less
costly to acquire and launch, a perfect fit for customers in the early stages
of building their business or for established customers that wish to add
incremental capacity to their networks.

Over the past several months, B-SAT has carefully evaluated its options
for a replacement satellite and concluded that Orbital’s STAR design would
again provide the best solution.
The previous two satellites that Orbital
built for B-SAT, BSAT-2a and -2b, were also based on the STAR platform.
The
first satellite, BSAT-2a, launched in March 2001, is currently in orbit,
providing reliable broadcasting service throughout Japan.

“The BSAT-2 program highlights our unique GEO satellite capabilities,”
said Dr. Ali Atia, head of Orbital’s communications satellite group.
“We look
forward to working with B-SAT once again to deliver a system that provides
television service in an affordable, reliable manner.”

Orbital is currently working on several other high-profile GEO
communications programs.
The company is part of a Lockheed Martin team to
supply Japan’s NTT Mobile Communications Network, Inc. (NTT DoCoMo) with the
N-STARc satellite and ground system.
Orbital has system design responsibility
and will provide the spacecraft bus and ground system for N-STARc.
Orbital is
also building the Galaxy 12 C-band satellite for PanAmSat Corporation, which
owns and operates the world’s largest private fleet of commercial GEO
communications satellites.
The PanAmSat contract includes an option for two
additional similar spacecraft.

Orbital develops and manufactures affordable space systems, including
satellites, launch vehicles and advanced space 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