AT&T's Telstar 402R set for launch Friday.

KOUROU, French Guiana--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 1995--AT&T's Telstar 402R is set to be launched here Friday evening.

One of the biggest, most powerful and most advanced communications commercial satellites ever built, Telstar 402R will be used by broadcasters and leading syndicators to beam programs to network affiliates in all 50 United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"Telstar 402R continues the standard set by its predecessor, Telstar 401, for the clearest transmission and highest quality of video and data communications," said Mary Jane McKeever, vice president and general manager of AT&T SKYNET(R) Services, the group that manages AT&T's domestic satellite business. "Telstar 402R also features the state-of-the-art technology that will adapt to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our customers," she said.

Telstar 402R, which replaces a satellite lost immediately after being placed into orbit in 1994, is equipped with state-of-the-art systems that will provide high quality satellite transmissions for up to 12 years.

Telstar 402R will provide customers with the option of using either C- or Ku-Band transponders, or both, depending on their broadcasting needs.

In addition, the satellite supports digital compression and has been designed to meet the needs of the broadcasting industry.

"We concluded an extensive investigation into the probable cause of the failure of Telstar 402," said McKeever. "With corrective actions that have been implemented, we are confident that the launch and operation of Telstar 402R will be successful."

The satellite will be launched on an Ariane 42L rocket, manufactured by Arianespace, Inc., which is equipped with two liquid- propellant strap-on boosters. Telstar 402R is scheduled for liftoff between 8:06 and 8:51 p.m., eastern daylight time, from Arianespace's launch complex, ELA-2 in Kourou.

The Ariane 42L rocket will place the satellite into a parking orbit. From there, engineers at AT&T's Satellite Operations Management Center in Hawley, Pa., will begin to track the spacecraft as it is moved from that parking orbit until it reaches its final destination, which is geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the earth's equator. The orbital slot is 89 degrees West Longitude. Technicians will then conduct the necessary procedures and testing to ensure Telstar 402R's in-service date of December 1.

"AT&T has been providing world class, leading edge satellite transmission services and Bell Labs technology for its customers since our first communications satellite launch in 1962," said McKeever. "Our goal then was to connect the world to every point in the United States. Today it is a reality."

Arianespace, an industrial and commercial company, is a world leader in the provision of commercial space transportation services. Arianespace also markets and sells Ariane launch services and provides launch operations from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. Arianespace, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Arianespace, is responsible for marketing launch services in the United States.

AT&T SKYNET Satellite Services provides broadcast, video and data communications services to private industry and government via its Telstar 3 and 4 series of satellites to the 50 United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The organization also operates the Hawley Satellite Operations Management Center which serves as mission control for AT&T's fleet of Telstar satellites.

The launch will be telecast live via C-band on AT&T's Telstar 401 Transponder 16.

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