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To: John Rieman who wrote (25189)	11/13/1997 12:46:00 PM
From: DiViT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

More headends... Orbital's INDOSTAR-1 Satellite Launched Aboard Ariane 4 Rocket ÿ 11/13/97 PR Newswire (Copyright (c) 1997, PR Newswire) ÿ Company's First Geostationary Satellite to Provide Indonesia With Complete Direct-to-Home Television Broadcast Services DULLES, Va., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- A new era for satellites manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation (Nasdaq: ORBI) was inaugurated when the company's first geostationary (GEO) satellite, INDOSTAR-1 (also known by the Indonesian name Cakrawarta-1), was launched aboard an Ariane 4 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana in South America late yesterday. Orbital built the INDOSTAR-1 satellite for PT MediaCitra Indostar to provide the first direct- to-home (DTH) satellite television broadcast services to Indonesia and its nearly 200 million citizens who populate almost 14,000 islands. The satellite is expected to reach its GEO orbit position, approximately 22,300 miles above the Earth, in about four days. Liftoff of the Ariane 4 rocket occurred Wednesday, November 12, at approximately 4:48 p.m. (EST). At approximately 26 minutes into the mission, the 1385 kg. (3,050 lb.) INDOSTAR-1 satellite separated as planned from the rocket's third stage. Shortly thereafter, Orbital established communications with the satellite and conducted initial state-of-health tests that indicated the satellite's main systems were operating as expected. Once these tests were completed, Orbital and MediaCitra engineers sent the commands to initiate the transfer orbit phase of the mission, during which the satellite remains in an intermediate "parking orbit" for several days prior to reaching to its final orbital position. The INDOSTAR-1 spacecraft is the world's first commercial communications satellite to use S-band frequencies, which efficiently penetrate the atmosphere and provide high-quality transmissions to small-diameter antennas (70 cm.) in a region of heavy rainfall such as Indonesia. Similar performance is not economically feasible with comparable Ku- or C-band DTH satellite systems since more power is required in these bands to penetrate the moist atmosphere. The INDOSTAR-1 satellite generates 1.5 kilowatts of electrical power and has a 12-year design life. Its advanced, lightweight design results in lower manufacturing, launch and acquisition costs than other spacecraft in its class. For a direct TV broadcast system, Orbital offers its customers the financial flexibility of a phased approach in which multiple satellites can be acquired and deployed in step with the development of the customer's business plan. A turn-key system with two satellites from Orbital can be acquired for approximately the same cost as one of the larger, traditional GEO direct broadcast satellites and related hardware. Under a $175 million contract, Orbital is providing PT MediaCitra Indostar with a turn-key solution for Indonesia's television broadcast requirements. Orbital is providing the complete INDOVISION satellite television broadcast system, including total DTH system engineering; the coordination of activities for the Ariane 4 launch; the ground station for spacecraft telemetry, tracking, control and monitoring; design and engineering management of the integrated receiver and decoder units; subscriber management and conditional access security systems; and complete program risk management, system operations and maintenance, along with international and domestic regulatory management. Orbital is a space and information systems company that designs, manufactures, operates and markets a broad range of affordable space infrastructure systems, satellite access products and satellite-provided services, including launch vehicles, satellites, space sensors and electronics, satellite ground systems and software, satellite-based navigation and communications products, and satellite-delivered fixed and mobile communications and Earth imaging services. Note: To learn more about Orbital Sciences Corporation and to access recent press releases, visit Orbital's Web site at orbital.com. /CONTACT: Barron Beneski of Orbital Sciences, 703-406-5000 or beneski.barron@orbital.com/ 09:54 EST