SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26, 1998 – International Launch Services (ILS) announced today that HISPASAT S.A., a Madrid-based satellite operator, and Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services have signed a contract to launch the HISPASAT 1C satellite on an Atlas IIAS. The launch is presently scheduled for late 1999 from Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), FL.

“We are extremely honored that HISPASAT has chosen Atlas launch services for the first time,” said Charles H. Lloyd, ILS president. “We look forward to working with them over the coming months as we prepare for the launch of their third satellite.”

HISPASAT 1C will be built by Aerospatiale Espace of France. It will join the HISPASAT 1A and 1B satellites already on orbit and will provide satellite communication and direct-to-home television services to Europe, the Iberian peninsula, and the Americas.

Atlas IIAS is the highest-performing Atlas configuration presently being launched by
Lockheed Martin for the worldwide satellite communications industry. The Atlas IIAS configuration has achieved 100% mission success since its debut in 1993. Atlas IIAS is capable of lifting up to 8,200 pounds (3, 719 kg) to geosynchronous transfer orbit. With the HISPASAT 1C contract, the Atlas backlog of future launch commitments stands at 25.

Atlas and the Centaur upper stage are built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics at facilities in Denver, CO; Harlingen, TX; and San Diego, CA. Astronautics is one of the operating elements of the corporation’s Space & Strategic Missiles Sector headquartered in Bethesda, MD. International Launch Services (ILS) was established in 1995 as a result of the merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta to jointly market Atlas and the Russian-built Proton. ILS is owned by Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services and Lockheed Khrunichev Energia International.