‘XM Rock’ Satellite Hits Critical In-Orbit Milestones; ‘XM Roll’ Launch Slated for May 7
XM Satellite Radio’s
first satellite, “Rock,” has achieved several critical performance milestones
and continues easing toward its final orbital position.
The company’s second
satellite, “Roll,” is scheduled for launch May 7.
The joint announcement was
made today by XM and Boeing Satellite Systems, (BSS), a unit of
The Boeing Company .
“We have a bird in the air and another bird ready to fly,” said XM
President and CEO Hugh Panero.
“XM is on schedule for its summer rollout.
XM-ready radios are on retail shelves, final chipsets are with our radio
manufacturers, and our broadcast studio is creating content.”
“The satellite’s communications antennas and solar wings have now been
successfully deployed, following a successful series of five firings of the
satellite’s on-board liquid apogee engine,” said Randy H. Brinkley, president
of BSS.
“The satellite’s state of health continues to be excellent.”
On March 18, Sea Launch successfully lifted “Rock” to geosynchronous
transfer orbit from its Odyssey Launch Platform in open waters of the Pacific
Ocean on the equator, at 154 degrees West Longitude.
The injection orbit
apogee was within 26.3 km of target and the perigee was within 22 meters of
target, the most accurate injection Sea Launch’s Zenit-3SL vehicle has
achieved to date.
“Roll” will also launch from Sea Launch’s platform on the equator.
The
Sea Launch Company, an international partnership, is the world’s only ocean-
based commercial launch service provider.
With the advantage of a launch site
on the Equator, the proven Zenit-3SL rocket can lift a heavier spacecraft mass
or place a payload into a higher perigee, offering high performance.
Both satellites will operate in geostationary orbit above the United
States. By using two powerful satellites, each with the same nationwide
coverage, XM will ensure maximum signal and system reliability.
All three XM
satellites — “Rock,” “Roll,” and a spare in its final testing phase — are
Boeing 702 models, the most powerful commercial satellites ever made,
manufactured by BSS.
“Rock” and its twin “Roll” both have two 16.4 ft folding deployable S-band
transmit reflectors and one X-band global receive antenna.
The satellites
span 132.5 feet in length and 46.6 feet in width with antennas fully deployed,
and have a total spacecraft power of 18 kilowatts.
The satellites carry
digital audio radio payloads that each feature two active transponders
generating approximately 3,000 watts of radio frequency power, making these
the most powerful commercial transponders ever built.
Rock will operate in a
geostationary orbit at 115 degrees West Longitude with a mass of 6,505 pounds
(2,950 kg) in orbit.
Roll will operate at 85 degrees West Longitude.
XM will transform radio, an industry that has seen little technological
change since FM, almost 40 years ago.
XM will offer 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.
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.
XM-ready radios are being manufactured by such household names as Sony,
Alpine, Pioneer, Clarion, Blaupunkt, Delphi-Delco, Visteon, Panasonic, and
Sanyo.
Radios are being shipped to retailers including Best Buy, Circuit
City, RadioShack, Sears and Crutchfield.
For more information, please visit
XM’s web site: http://www.xmradio.com .
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.
For more information, please visit BSS’s web
site: http://www.boeing.com/satellite .
The Boeing Company, headquartered 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.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statements in this press release include uncertainties
associated with the launch of the company’s satellites, the company’s
dependence on third party vendors, its continuing need for additional
financing, as well as other risks described in XM Satellite Radio Holdings
Inc.’s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 22,
2001.
Copies of the filing are available upon request from XM Radio’s
Investor Relations Department.
