HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., May 12, 1997 -- A McDonnell Douglas (NYSE: MD) Delta II rocket will launch the Thor II satellite for Telenor of Norway on May 17. The Hughes spacecraft will allow Telenor to offer increased direct-to-home television services to the Scandinavian region.
The three-stage Delta II will lift off from Space Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. There will be two potential launch windows of 44 minutes and 51 minutes, respectively, during a 186-minute time period beginning at 6:39 p.m. and ending at 9:45 p.m. EDT. The first launch window opens at 6:39 p.m. and closes at 7:23 p.m. and the second launch window opens at 8:54 p.m. and closes at 9:45 p.m.
The Thor II, named for Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, will add up to 75 channels of television capacity to the Telenor system and has an estimated life span of 11 years. It will join Thor I, which was successfully boosted into orbit in August 1989 as Delta's first commercial launch under the name BSB-R1. It was later renamed Thor I when Telenor purchased it.
Thor I is currently serving more than 750,000 customers with dish antennas and additional cable TV viewers throughout Scandinavia.
"McDonnell Douglas has been preparing for this mission since late 1995 when we signed our launch contract with Hughes Space and Communications International," said Jay Witzling, division director, Delta II and Titan programs for McDonnell Douglas. "Our team is proud of the key role the Delta II has in helping Telenor bring the advantages of improved and expanded television service to the people of the Nordic region," he said.
McDonnell Douglas is the world's largest builder of military aircraft, and the third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer. Its Space & Defense Systems business, headquartered in Huntington Beach, is a world leader in space transportation, producing the Delta family of expendable launch vehicles. It manufactures major elements of the International Space Station as well as military command, control, communications, computer and intelligence (C4I) systems.
The Delta II rocket is manufactured by McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach, Calif., and assembled in Pueblo, Colo.
Hughes Space and Communications International is a unit of Hughes Electronics, the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites. It has built 40 percent of those in operation. The earnings of Hughes Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to GMH (NYSE symbol) common stock.
Telenor is a leader in the growing Scandinavian region satellite communications business and in other worldwide markets.
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