GOES-8 WEATHER SATELLITE GOES ON LINE.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 7, 1994--GOES-8, the nation's first in a series of five advanced weather satellites built by Space Systems/Loral, went into operation today and is performing well in space, according to officials at the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

This next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-8, marks a new era in U.S. weather forecasting. Built for NOAA under a NASA contract, GOES-8 is the first U.S. weather satellite designed to provide 24-hour monitoring and measurement of dynamic weather events in real time. These satellites are the first three-axis, body stabilized, meteorological spacecraft to be used by NOAA, and the first to provide simultaneous, independent imaging and sounding in geostationary orbit.

GOES-8, the first of five new satellites being built for NOAA, was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 13, 1994. The GOES-8 satellite has been going through check out since launch and is now providing data to NOAA for its evaluation purposes.

The first visible image from GOES-8 was successfully received on May 9, 1994. The images that NOAA is receiving are far superior to anything previously available from geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the earth. It is providing precise and timely weather observation and atmospheric data, according to NOAA officials.

With GOES-8 now fully operational, weather forecasters will get an image of the earth every half hour with unprecedented detail. Among benefits of its new generation of instruments and its three-axis design are a sensitivity up to 30 times better than today's weather satellites and an ability to track hurricanes with 10 times greater accuracy and on a virtual minute-to-minute basis.

The GOES series of satellites is funded and operated by NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is responsible for the procurement of the space segment, and Lewis Research Center is responsible for the procurement of launch services.

The next satellite in the series, GOES-J, is planned for launch in the spring of 1995. It will replace GOES-7, which is planned to be used as a backup. The remaining three satellites in the GOES series will be launched as required to support NOAA's dual-satellite geostationary observing system.

Space Systems/Loral, based in Palo Alto, Calif., designs and manufactures satellites for telecommunications and environmental applications. In addition to GOES-Next, the company is building the Tempo direct broadcast satellite, the Intelsat VII series, the N-Star series, PAS-5 for PanAmSat and the Superbird communications satellites.

Space Systems/Loral is a subsidiary of Loral Corporation, a high-technology company that primarily concentrates in defense electronics, communications, space and systems integration.

CONTACT: Loral Corporation

              Joseph Tedino
              703/416-5540