Orbital Completes Telkom-2 Commercial Communications Satellite For Indonesia

Contact: Barron Beneski, (703) 406-5000,

Orbital Completes Telkom-2 Commercial Communications Satellite For Indonesia
Company's Newest GEO Satellite Completed in 18 Months from Contract Start to
Ground Delivery
Launch of Telkom-2 Satellite is Planned for First Half of 2005 Aboard Ariane
Rocket

(Dulles, VA 26 January 2005) - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB)
today announced that it has completed the design, manufacturing and testing
process for the Telkom-2 C-band satellite that the company is supplying to
Indonesia's state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telkomunikasi
Indonesia Tbk (PT Telkom). The Telkom-2 satellite is based on Orbital's
STAR-2 satellite platform, generating approximately three kilowatts of
electrical power and carrying 24 C-band transponders. In addition to the
satellite platform, Orbital also designed, manufactured and tested the
communications payload and is furnishing a complete ground station,
including hardware and operations software. At the time of the launch of the
Telkom-2 satellite, Orbital engineers will provide launch and mission
support services to ensure a smooth transition to the customer's full
operational control of the satellite.

Orbital completed the Telkom-2 production and testing process in just 18
months, from the full program start in May 2003, to its pre-launch ground
delivery in November 2004. The launch of the satellite is currently in the
scheduling process and is expected to take place in the first half of 2005
aboard an Ariane rocket originating from Kourou, French Guiana. The Telkom-2
satellite will enter a geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) 22,300 miles above
the Earth, at 118 degrees East longitude. It will allow PT Telkom to expand
its satellite communications coverage area from the Indonesian archipelago
into the Southeast Asian region and the Indian subcontinent.

Over the past several years, Orbital has firmly established itself as a
leading supplier of small GEO satellites designed to provide direct-to-home
TV broadcasting, cable program distribution, business data network capacity,
regional mobile communications and similar services. Orbital's GEO
communications satellites are based on the company's STAR-1 and STAR-2
standard spacecraft platforms, which are able to accommodate most types of
commercial communications payloads.

For many applications, the lighter weight, more affordable STAR design is an
attractive alternative to the larger, more costly GEO satellites offered by
other suppliers. Orbital's STAR satellites are smaller and significantly
less expensive to manufacture and launch. They are an ideal fit for
established companies that require incremental capacity for their network,
like PT Telkom, or for customers in the early stages of building their
business.

About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small space systems for military,
commercial and civil government customers. The company's primary products
are launch vehicles and satellites, including missile defense boosters that
are used as interceptor and target vehicles, ground- and air-launched
rockets that deliver satellites into orbit, and low-orbit, geostationary and
planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing and scientific
missions. Orbital also offers space-related technical services to government
agencies and develops and builds satellite-based transportation management
systems for public transit agencies and private vehicle fleet operators.
More information about Orbital can be found at: http://www.orbital.com


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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info