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To: Geoff Goodfellow who wrote (3917)	4/15/1999 5:03:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

04/15 16:44 Boeing Delta II Launches Landsat-7 Spacecraft <BA.N> Boeing Delta II Launches Landsat-7 Spacecraft VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- A spacecraft that will be used by scientists to study changes here on Earth was carried into orbit today to become the 198th NASA mission aboard a Boeing (NYSE: BA) Delta rocket. A Delta II lifted off the launch pad at 11:32 a.m. PDT, carrying the Landsat-7 Earth-imaging spacecraft into orbit. It is the seventh NASA- sponsored payload Boeing has launched in the last eight months, and marks the 198th NASA spacecraft the company has launched since 1961. "This launch marks 40 years of collaboration by Boeing and NASA to explore the vastness of space, and planets near and far," said Darryl Van Dorn, Boeing director of commercial and NASA Delta programs. "We're proud to partner with NASA on the Landsat-7 mission which will provide valuable information on a planet everyone can relate to -- Earth." An hour and two minutes after liftoff, Landsat-7 separated from the upper stage of the Delta II to insert itself into a sun-synchronous orbit more than 400 miles above the Earth. Landsat-7 is the latest in a series of Earth-imaging spacecraft carried aboard Delta launch vehicles and is a joint program with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. The satellite continues the 26-year flow of global change information to the scientific community and commercial users worldwide. Data from Landsat is used for monitoring global deforestation and fire damage, estimating soil moisture and snow water equivalence, and monitoring flood, storm, earthquake and volcanic eruption damage. Additional applications include studies of tropical deforestation, timber losses in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, soil moisture and snow water. Landsats also have been used to monitor population changes in and around metropolitan areas, and by fast food restaurants to estimate community growth sufficient to warrant a franchise. The Landsat-7 spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II, a medium capacity expendable launch vehicle derived from the Delta family of rockets built and launched since 1960. The Delta II rocket is manufactured in Huntington Beach, Calif., with final assembly in Pueblo, Colo., and is powered by the RS-27A engine built by Boeing in Canoga Park, Calif. Launch coordination and operations for the NASA mission was provided by the Delta launch team at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Alliant Techsystems, Magna, Utah, builds the graphite epoxy motors for boost assist. Aerojet, Sacramento, Calif., manufactures the second-stage engine, and AlliedSignal, Teterboro, N.J., builds the guidance and flight control system. SOURCE The Boeing Company -0- 04/15/99 /CONTACT: Communications, 714-896-1301 or Boeing Launch Hotline, 714-896-4770/ /Web site: boeing.com -- LATH097 -- 1670 04/15/99 16:29 EDT prnewswire.com Copyright PR Newswire 1998. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT © 1999 REUTERS LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

To: Geoff Goodfellow who wrote (3917)	4/16/1999 3:16:00 AM
From: Geoff Goodfellow	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 29987

IRIDIUM WON'T HIT CASH FLOW BREAKEVEN, ANALYSTS SAY (Mobile Satellite; 04/15/99) Apr. 15, 1999 (MOBILE SATELLITE NEWS, Vol. 11, No. 8 via COMTEX) -- NEW YORK - Responding to mounting criticism from Wall Street analysts, Iridium LLC [IRID] CEO Ed Staiano reportedly told select analysts here last week that Iridium will need $120 million in revenue per month for cash flow breakeven to meet its projected 450,000 to 500,000 subscribers by year-end. Staiano made his closed- door remarks following a panel session at the C.E. Unterberg, Towbin conference. But satellite analyst Marc Crossman of J.P. Morgan thinks the company will fall short of those numbers. "They will not break even for cash flow in 1999, and I seriously doubt that they'll break even in 2000 because of the lack of subscribers-no one's using minutes," Crossman said. "I believe the stock may even drop to single digits by this summer if subscriber growth doesn't pick up." Crossman projects that Iridium will snag only 250,000 subscribers by year-end 1999. He added that he will be surprised if the company nets more than 100,000 subscribers. Iridium has admitted that it is behind in ramping up its satellite service, but would not confirm reports for cash-flow breakeven by year-end. "Iridium is currently revamping its business plan as part of its renegotiating with the banks and therefore cannot speculate on cash requirements for year-end until this effort is complete," said Iridium spokeswoman Michelle Lyle. "Our slow ramp up is likely to push out the date of cash flow break-even." Iridium's stock has rebounded and was trading at $19 at our deadline. What has hurt Iridium has not only been failing to meet first quarter subscriber levels and a diminishing stock price, which slumped to an all-time low of $15 last week, but a surprising demand for accessory equipment, such as antennas that the company did not anticipate, sources said. Also surprising is the number of subscribers who have threatened to discontinue service with Iridium if they are not able to get complete global coverage at all time when traveling. However, sources said Iridium should have these problems under control by year-end. "You can't use phones in the Bahamas because they don't have licenses for coverage there," Crossman said. "Iridium hasn't even started shipping the CDMA cartridges yet." Despite these worries, Staiano said the industry can expect Iridium's next- generation satellite phones in about 15 months which will retail for much cheaper than current phones. "Prices [for handsets] are unavailable but will likely retail for lower prices than current phones, depending on the manufacturer," Lyle said, though she would not confirm a timeline for the next generation of phones. However, on the satellite side, according to sources, Iridium may replace birds every six years. Already, Iridium has turned off satellites in orbit in order to update the software, as well as move its satellites into different orbits, which takes about 10 days per bird, but does not cause interference to customers, sources said. "In order to upgrade software, Iridium shuts down satellites over the poles so as to guarantee global service and ensure no disruption in global availability on the ground," Lyle said. "Over the poles, we have a convergence of multiple satellites so taking a satellite out of service for a few minutes has no impact on customers." Iridium plans to release first quarter earnings April 26. -0- Copyright Phillips Publishing, Inc. This article was sent to you by an Inquisit subscriber who thinks you may be interested in subscribing to our service. To find out more about Inquisit, or to sign up for a free trial subscription, visit us at inquisit.com. Delivered via the Inquisit(TM) business intelligence service. All articles Copyright 1999 by their respective source(s); all rights reserved.