CD Radio & Loral commence satellite construction.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1997--CD Radio (NASDAQ:CDRD) and Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications Ltd. (NYSE:LOR), announced today that construction of CD Radio's satellite-to-car radio broadcast system has commenced, with Loral building two digital audio radio service (DARS) satellites for CD Radio. The satellites will provide high-quality digital radio broadcasts to automobiles in the continental United States.

Under the contract, Loral will build and deliver two satellites for launch in 1999, and has an option to build one additional satellite.

"Construction of our satellite system is now underway at Loral, one of the world's premier satellite manufacturers," said David Margolese, chairman and chief executive of CD Radio. "We intend to waste no time in moving to enter the market."

"Loral's contract with CD Radio is a further indication of the opportunities emerging from the digital revolution," said Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Loral. "Loral is pleased to participate with CD Radio in the delivery of this new service."

The satellites will be based on Space Systems/Loral's FS-1300, three-axis stabilized spacecraft and will have a mission life in excess of 15 years. This project brings the total number of satellites in this family of spacecraft that have been built or ordered to 61, including 24 currently in production.

CD Radio, based in Washington, DC, is the winning bidder for one of two FCC national satellite radio broadcast licenses. The company is developing a satellite-to-car 50 channel radio service for delivery of music and other programming to motorists throughout the United States.

SS/L is a full-service provider of commercial communications satellite systems and services, including launch and insurance procurement and mission operations from its mission control center in Palo Alto, Calif. SS/L currently has a total backlog of more than 75 spacecraft. In addition to building DARS satellites for CD Radio, the company is the prime contractor for Globalstar's constellation of low-earth orbit satellites, the N-STAR, Mabuhay, APSTAR, TELSTAR, PanAmSat, L-STAR, M2A, INTELSAT and CHINASAT communications satellites, as well as the latest series of weather-watch satellites, GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite), and the Japanese MTSAT, the next-generation Japanese air traffic control and weather-watch satellite.

Loral Space & Communications Ltd., headquartered in New York, is a high-technology company that primarily concentrates on satellite manufacturing and satellite-based services. Loral recently announced an agreement to increase its ownership in SS/L to 100 percent, and completed its acquisition of the Skynet Satellite Services division of AT&T. Loral also manages and, with a 38 percent interest, is the largest equity owner of Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSTRF), an international partnership that will provide a new generation of satellite-based telephony services worldwide in late 1998.

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, concerning estimated completion and launch dates and estimated mission life of CD Radio's satellites. Such information involves risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events to differ from those anticipated due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to delays based on delays in financing, design, development, construction or testing of satellites or governmental approvals, unavailability of launch slots or launch contractor delays, or malfunctions in the satellites once launched.

CONTACT: David Benton

[phone]

or

David Margolese, CD Radio

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