MEASAT and PanAmSat dual launch for Hughes.

KOUROU, French Guiana--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 1996--Two communications satellites will be lofted into orbit Jan. 12 to give Malaysia its first privately owned satellite and a U.S. company its fourth satellite in a global constellation.

Two different Hughes satellite designs will be launched, an HS 376 and HS 601.

The satellites were constructed at the Hughes Space and Communications Co. facilities in El Segundo, Calif. Both satellites will be launched from Kourou aboard a single Ariane rocket at 8:10 p.m. local time (3:10 p.m. PST, 11:10 p.m. GMT). If needed, a second launch opportunity will begin 2 hours 16 minutes later. The first satellite to separate from the launch vehicle will be PanAmSat's PAS-3, followed by MEASAT-1 for Malaysia approximately 5:42 minutes later.

PAS-3, an HS 601, will be positioned above the Atlantic Ocean at 43 degrees West longitude to carry video, data and voice signals. This satellite is a replacement for a spacecraft that was lost when the rocket booster failed in December 1994. The satellite will operate in both C-band and Ku-band with 16 active transponders in each frequency range.

Hughes has built four satellites for PanAmSat, the world's first privately owned global communications satellite operator, and has one more on order. PanAmSat provides satellite-based communication services to more than 300 customers worldwide.

PanAmSat's HS 601 satellites use Hughes' advanced shaped-reflector technology, which concentrates the satellite's beam over targeted land areas while avoiding uninhabited oceans. Hughes' patented, highly efficient design eliminates the need for multiple feedhorn configurations.

MEASAT-1 will be Malaysia's first national satellite. Owned by Binariang Sdn Bhd, a private company established as a result of the Malaysian government's 1987 privatization policy, the satellite will provide the first direct-to-user (DTU) service in Malaysia, as well as general communication services in an area covering the East Asian region.

Binariang will also be the first cellular operator in Malaysia to offer fully digital service based on the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard. The company has also been authorized by the Malaysian government to operate a fixed network and international gateway.

The MEASAT satellites use the Hughes HS 376 spin stabilized design and will be the first commercial satellites with gallium- arsenide solar cells. MEASAT-1 has four high-power Ku-band transponders for DTU service. In addition, 12 C-band transponders will perform regional service.

Hughes also supplied equipment for a satellite control station on Malaysia's Langkawi Island and trained the Malaysian spacecraft controllers.

Hughes is the leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built more than 40 percent of those in operation.

CONTACT: Hughes Space and Communications Co., El Segundo

310/364-6363