HUGHES SPACE AND COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY Communications and Customer Relations P.O. Box 92919 (S10/S323) Los Angeles, CA 90009 (310) 364-6363

AARON COPELAND NAMED 'MOST PROMISING' BLACK ENGINEER

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 31, 1997 -- Aaron Copeland, 32, a satellite engineer at Hughes Space and Communications Company, has been named "Most Promising" Engineer for 1997 by the National Black Engineer of the Year selection committee.

Copeland, who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, is deputy spacecraft manager for the new Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) Hughes is building for NASA. These three satellites, which will be launched in 1999 and 2000, enable the space agency to provide communications between its spacecraft in low earth orbit and control and data processing facilities.

In nominating Copeland, Hughes management cited his "early vision of opportunity, achievement (and) excellence." Copeland moved rapidly through various assignments after joining Hughes in 1988, and at age 26 became one of the youngest project managers at the satellite manufacturing company.

Copeland received his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University in 1987, and now is working on his master of business administration degree at the University of Southern California. He graduated with honors from Flint (Mich.) Northwestern High School in 1982, where he also excelled in athletics. His parents, Mary Armstrong and Elbert Copeland, live in Flint.

Besides working and attending classes, Copeland has been involved with various professional and academic organizations over the years. Copeland still enjoys participating in a variety of sports, and is an active member of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles.

Hughes Space and Communications, a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation, is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built more than 40 percent of those in operation.