SAN DIEGO, Jan. 28, 1997 – A Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS rocket has been selected by Japan Satellite Systems, Inc. (JSAT) to launch the JCSAT-6 communications satellite. The launch is scheduled for mid-1998 from Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), FL.

“We are very honored that Atlas has been selected for another Japan Satellite Systems launch,” said Michael R. Wash, president-Atlas Division, International Launch Services. “It is always gratifying when customers return with repeat business.”

JCSAT-3 was launched successfully by an Atlas IIAS on August 28, 1995 from CCAS and is providing telecommunications and television services to Japan, Asia, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. The next Atlas launch from CCAS will be JCSAT-4 on February 15, also on an Atlas IIAS.

Atlas IIAS is the highest-performing Atlas configuration presently being launched by
Lockheed Martin for the worldwide satellite communications industry. Atlas IIAS is capable of lifting up to 8,150 pounds (3,697 kg) to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The JCSAT-6 mission brings the Atlas backlog to 30 launch commitments.

JCSAT-6 is a Hughes HS 601 design. This multi-purpose satellite will be equipped with 32 Ku-band transponders with 27 MHz bandwidth, each with 70 watts provided by a traveling-wave tube amplifier.

Japan Satellite Systems, Inc. (JSAT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, was established in 1993 as a result of the merger of Japan Communications Satellite Company, Inc. and Satellite Japan Corporation. JSAT aims to provide telecommunications services that are consistent with the emerging age of globalization and multimedia.

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 four operating elements of the corporation’s Space & Strategic Missiles Sector headquartered in Bethesda, MD.

International Launch Services 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 jointly by Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services and the LKEI joint venture with Khrunichev Enterprise and RSC Energia in Russia.