Tuesday February 2, 5:35 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SATMEX 5 Completes All In-Orbit Testing
Hughes Transfers Satellite to Owner
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 1999--Hughes Space and Communications Co. has successfully completed all in-orbit testing of SATMEX 5, a high-power HS 601 satellite built for Satmex of Mexico, and has turned the satellite over to Satmex controllers at the Iztapalapa ground station.
The satellite was launched from French Guiana on Dec. 5, 1998, and Hughes has been conducting routine in-orbit acceptance tests for the last six weeks. SATMEX 5 was the 35th HS 601 satellite, the world's most-purchased commercial satellite, to be launched.
SATMEX 5 is the third generation of satellites Hughes has built for Mexico, preceded by Morelos I and Morelos II, launched in 1985, and by Solidaridad 1 and 2, launched in 1993 and 1994. SATMEX 5 will replace Morelos II at 116.8 degrees West longitude to provide business communications, television distribution, and educational programming services to a region stretching from Canada to the Patagonia.
SATMEX 5, an HS 601HP model, has 7,000 watts of payload power, 10 times that of Morelos II, and a 15-year design life, double that of Morelos II. The satellite features 48 transponders, 24 in C-band and 24 in Ku-band. The 24 C-band transponders are powered by 36-watt traveling wave-tube amplifiers, and the 24 Ku-band transponders are powered by 132.5-watt traveling wave-tube amplifiers.
SATMEX 5 also carries a xenon ion propulsion system, XIPS, which will be used for north and south stationkeeping. Hughes was the first to launch a commercially available ion propulsion system when it launched its first HS 601HP in August 1997, and also developed a similar ion engine currently flying on NASA's Deep Space 1.
The commercial XIPS is 10 times more efficient than traditional chemical bipropellants and allows for a reduction in propellant mass of up to 90%. SATMEX 5 is the fourth HS 601HP to carry XIPS.
Hughes Space and Communications is the world's leading manufacturer of geostationary commercial communications satellites, and is also a major supplier of spacecraft and equipment to the United States government. Hughes is also a builder of weather satellites for the United States and Japan. The earnings of Hughes Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to GMH (NYSE symbol) common stock.
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