Space Systems Loral To Launch 36 Globalstar Satellites On Three Zenit Rockets

Business Wire, May 16, 1995

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 1995--Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Corporation (NYSE:LOR), has selected NPO Yuzhnoye to launch 36 Globalstar satellites into low-earth-orbit aboard three Zenit-2 launch vehicles. The three launches, consisting of 12 satellites per launch, will be conducted from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in 1998.

The 12-satellite launch configuration will be composed of three tiers of four satellites each, allowing each satellite to be dispensed sequentially. The dispensing technology will be derived from previous Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) development.

The agreement gives Globalstar access to reliable and moderately-priced launch services, and enables Ukraine to convert defense-related technology to help advance a commercial project that will enhance global communications.

Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSTRF) is a low-earth orbit satellite- based telecommunications system founded by Loral Corporation and Qualcomm Inc., that will offer low-cost, high quality global telephony and other digital telecommunications services to areas currently underserved or not served by existing wireline and cellular telecommunications systems.

The Globalstar system will allow users to make phone calls with hand-held, vehicle-mounted, and fixed-site telephones from anywhere to anywhere -- by routing calls up to one of the 48 Globalstar satellites, down to a Globalstar gateway ground- station, and on through the existing public switched telephone network (PSTN).

The launch of the first four Globalstar satellites is scheduled for 1997 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard a two-stage Delta II rocket provided by McDonnell Douglas. An additional eight to 12 Globalstar satellites will be launched by the end of the fourth quarter of 1997. Globalstar will commence initial commercial operations in 1998. The total number of satellites to be launched is 56 satellites, which includes eight in-orbit spares.

Space Systems/Loral has a fixed-price contract for the construction of Globalstar's satellites, which it will perform in conjunction with various other members of the international Space Systems/Alliance, which includes Aerospatiale and Alcatel of France, Daimler-Benz Aerospace of Germany and Finmeccanica of Italy, and with Hyundai of South Korea.

Space Systems/Loral, based in Palo Alto, Calif., designs and manufactures complex, high-powered satellites for telecommunications and environmental applications. The company is the prime contractor for the TEMPO and PanAmSat direct broadcast satellite, INTELSAT VII and N-Star communications satellites, as well as the latest series of weather-watch satellites, GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite), the next generation of U.S. weather forecasting satellites.

Loral Corporation, headquartered in New York City, is a high- technology company that primarily concentrates in defense electronics, communications, space and systems integration.

CONTACT: Loral Corp.

Joanne Hvala

(212) 697-1105

or

David C. Benton

(703) 416-5531