HUGHES SPACE AND COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
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P.O. Box 92919 (S10/S323)
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SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF HUGHES-BUILT GALAXY IVR

KOUROU, French Guiana, April 18, 2000 - Galaxy IVR, a high-power Hughes 601HP satellite built for PanAmSat Corporation by Hughes Space and Communications Company, the world's largest satellite manufacturer, was successfully launched tonight on an Ariane 42L rocket. Liftoff occurred at 9:29 p.m. Kourou time, and Galaxy IVR's first signals were received 37 minutes later at the Daan Magot satellite tracking station, confirming normal operations.

Galaxy IVR is the third satellite built by Hughes that PanAmSat has launched in 120 days. Ordered in October 1998, the Galaxy IVR satellite was built on an expedited basis and is the seventh consecutive on-time satellite delivery from Hughes.

The high-power 8,800-watt satellite features Hughes' leading technologies, including advanced dual-junction solar cells with 21 percent conversion efficiencies and XIPS, a xenon ion propulsion system that allows for a reduction in propellant mass of about 90 percent compared to chemical bipropellant systems.

Galaxy IVR joins PanAmSat's existing fleet of 20 satellites and will provide broadcast and telecommunications service to North America, with the ability to provide back-up services to Latin America. The payload consists of 48 transponders, 24 in Ku-band and 24 in C-band.

At time of launch, Galaxy IVR weighed 3,668 kilograms (8,088 pounds). Once in position 36,000 kilometers (22,300 miles) above the equator at 99 degrees West longitude, the satellite will weigh 2,216 kilograms (4,886 pounds).

Hughes has three other PanAmSat satellites scheduled for launch this year, two Hughes 601HP satellites, PAS-9 and PAS-10, and PanAmSat's second Hughes 702, PAS-1R. A fourth Hughes-built PanAmSat satellite, Galaxy IIIC, is scheduled for launch in 2001.

HSC is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built nearly 40 percent of those in operation. It also is a major supplier of spacecraft and equipment to the U.S. government, and a builder of weather satellites for the United States and Japan.

PanAmSat Corporation (NASDAQ: SPOT), based in Greenwich, Conn., is a leading provider of global video and data broadcasting services via satellite. The company builds, owns and operates networks that deliver entertainment and information to cable television systems, TV broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home TV operators, Internet service providers, telecommunications companies and corporations. With 21 spacecraft in orbit today, PanAmSat has the world's largest commercial geostationary satellite network. The company will expand its global fleet to 24 spacecraft by mid-2001. For more information on PanAmSat, visit the PanAmSat web site at http://www.panamsat.com.

HSC is a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation and PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by Hughes Electronics. Hughes Electronics is the world's leading provider of digital television entertainment, satellite services, and satellite-based private business networks. The earnings of Hughes Electronics, a unit of General Motors Corporation, are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE:GMH). More information about Hughes Electronics can be found at its web site at www.hughes.com.



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