Boeing-built PAS-1R Satellite Ready for Launch; Boeing 702 Doubles the Capacity of Existing Satellite.

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KOUROU, French Guiana--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2000

PAS-1R, a Boeing 702 spacecraft with twice the capacity of the satellite it is replacing, is scheduled for launch Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2000, it was announced today by Boeing Satellite Systems Inc. (BSS), formerly Hughes Space and Communications Co. BSS is a unit of The Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA).

PAS-1R, built for PanAmSat Corp., will be launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport, on the northeast coast of South America. The 56-minute launch window opens at 10:07 p.m. at the launch site, or 5:07 p.m. PST and 1:07 a.m. GMT on Wednesday, Nov. 15. PAS-1R is the second Boeing 702 in the PanAmSat fleet. The first, Galaxy XI, was launched in December 1999.

PAS-1R will replace PAS-1, the PanAmSat satellite placed into orbit 12 years ago as the first global communications system operated by private industry rather than a global government-run satellite system. That satellite, now nearing the end of its life, is credited with spawning the international commercial satellite communications revolution during the past decade. Its replacement, PAS-1R, will continue to set precedent by providing video, data and Internet services to four continents from its slot over the Atlantic Ocean.

"With PAS-1R, Boeing Satellite Systems is once again raising the bar on satellite capabilities," stated Tig H. Krekel, president of Boeing Satellite Systems. "This 702 spacecraft can deliver dozens of cable channels throughout Latin America, as well as broadcast billions of bits of digital video and data throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa. PAS-1R will provide broadband access to rural and remote areas and broadcast Internet content to potentially thousands of locations simultaneously.

"It does it all," Krekel added, "video, direct-to-home, telecommunications and Internet services."

The PAS-1R satellite will carry 72 active transponders: 36 in Ku-band and 36 in C-band. That is twice the capacity of PAS-1. The 36-transponder C-band payload uses 34-watt solid state amplifiers and 55-watt traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) for general telecommunications traffic such as voice, data and television relay. The 36 Ku-band transponders employ 125-watt and 140-watt TWTAs for direct-to-user services.

At launch the satellite will weigh 10,571 pounds. Once in orbit, PAS-1R will weigh 6,730 pounds and measure 134 feet in length and 27 feet in width with its solar panels and antennas deployed.

Standard on the Boeing 702 is the advanced xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS(TM)), which provides 10 times greater efficiency than conventional liquid bipropellant fuel systems. Four 25-cm thrusters will provide PAS-1R with economical attitude control, using only 5 kg of fuel per year -- a fraction of what bipropellant systems consume.

The satellite's power is derived from two solar wings, each with five panels of dual-junction gallium arsenide solar cells. These high-efficiency cells supply twice the power of traditional silicon cells. PAS-1R will have 14.3 kW of power at end of life.

PAS-1R will operate from an orbital slot of 45 degrees West longitude. The 22nd satellite in the PanAmSat fleet, it will provide services to a broad range of customers including Citibank, Reuters, Vitacom and DIRECTV(TM) Latin America, among others.

PanAmSat Corp. (Nasdaq:SPOT), based in Greenwich, Conn., is a leading provider of global video and data broadcasting services via satellite The company builds, owns and operates networks that deliver entertainment and information to cable television systems, TV broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers, telecommunications companies and corporations.

BSS is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites and a major provider of space systems, satellites, and payloads for national defense, science and environmental applications. The company was formed in October 2000 when Boeing acquired the Hughes Electronics satellite manufacturing companies, which included Hughes Space and Communications Co., Hughes Electron Dynamics, Spectrolab Inc. and Hughes Electronics' 50 percent share of HRL Laboratories.

The Boeing Co., with headquarters in Seattle, is the largest aerospace company in the world and the United States' leading exporter. It is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft, and the largest NASA contractor. The company's capabilities in aerospace also include rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch vehicles, and advanced information and communication systems.

The company has an extensive global reach with customers in 145 countries and manufacturing operations throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. At year-end 1999, Boeing and its subsidiaries employed 197,100 people.

TV Editors: Live video of the launch will be carried in English on the Galaxy IV satellite, transponder No. 12 in C-band. You are welcome to use the feed in your news broadcasts.

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