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To: Valueman who wrote (5189)	1/27/1999 3:21:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 10852

WSJ. Albright and Russians Agree to Resume Launches of U.S. Satellites in Kazakstan January 27, 1999 By HELENE COOPER Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL MOSCOW -- U.S. and Russian officials agreed to resume U.S. commercial-satellite launches by Russian rockets in Kazakstan, in exchange for promises from Russia and Kazakstan to give U.S. defense officials greater oversight. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, announced the agreement after two days of meetings. The pact will reduce red tape and is aimed at improving U.S. companies' competitiveness. The companies still need U.S. approval to launch satellites from Russian rockets. But U.S., Russian and Kazak authorities will no longer face the lengthy process of negotiating separate government agreements prior to each launch. U.S. Officials at Launch Sites Russia and Kazakstan promised to protect sensitive U.S. technology. "We in Russia are taking all measures to toughen our regime of export control," Mr. Ivanov said. U.S. defense officials will accompany each satellite to the launch site to monitor the operation through liftoff. The agreement also includes procedures for the retrieval of technology and equipment after a launch failure or crash. U.S. satellite launches on Russian rockets were suspended in September, pending negotiation of the pact. The White House came under pressure last year following earlier U.S. satellite launches in China, where, it was alleged, Beijing acquired sensitive U.S. technology. A six-month congressional investigation found the actions of several U.S. commercial satellite companies had harmed U.S. national security. The U.S., angered by Russia's missiletechnology proliferation, last month capped the number of launches by Russian rockets at 16 until the year 2000-much to the dismay of U.S. companies such as Lockheed Martin Corp. Nine launches occurred before the September suspension; yesterday's agreement covers the remaining seven. An earlier pact had allowed for an additional four launches. Pressure to Halt Transfers to Iran But U.S. officials said the cap won't be raised unless Russia halts all transfers of nuclear and missile technology to Iran. "They're well aware that we won't expand the space-launch quota until there's progress on Iran," one senior U.S. official said. With a shortage of launch capacity in the U.S., Lockheed has been relying on Russian launches to help it boost its share of a booming world-wide market. Russian fees from the seven launches are expected to total between $400 million and $500 million. U.S. officials are hoping the promise of so much cash will help persuade Moscow to drop weapons-technology sales to Iran and other suspect customers. Earlier this month, the U.S. imposed sanctions on three Russian scientific research institutes believed to be aiding the Iranians' nuclear and missile programs. Beginning March 15, U.S. licenses to export satellites will come under increased scrutiny, as the State Department assumes jurisdiction over them from the Commerce Department. U.S. firms are unhappy about the change, which is expected to lengthen the license-review period. U.S. companies preferred being reviewed by the Commerce Department, which is more oriented toward promoting business. Return to top of page \| Format for printing Copyright © 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Valueman who wrote (5189)	1/27/1999 7:26:00 AM
From: Jeff Vayda	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10852

Vman, seems like a light load for the sat. Did I recall some earlier projections which had higher initial usage? What is the break even point for SatMex V? (in terms of annual subscription percentages) Jeff Vayda