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

BSAT-1a SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED

KOUROU, French Guiana, April 16, 1997 -- BSAT-1a, a communications satellite for Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation of Tokyo, was successfully launched tonight. This was the second launch of the year for a spacecraft built by Hughes Space and Communications Company.

Liftoff was at 8:09 p.m. in Kourou aboard an Ariane 44 LP rocket. The spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle about 25 minutes later. About 9:15 p.m. in Kourou, approximately one hour after launch, the Eastern Hemisphere Telemetry, Tracking and Control station, located near Sydney, Australia, received BSAT-1a's first signals, confirming that it is operating normally.

BSAT-1a is an HS 376 spin-stabilized satellite. It will replace BS-3 spacecraft currently being used for direct-broadcast services (DBS) to more than 10 million customers in Japan. These DBS services include Hi-Vision broadcasts by Japan Broadcasting Corporation's NHK, Japan Satellite Broadcasting, Inc.'s WOWOW, and others. With a solar cell output of 1200 watts, the satellite will carry four active and four spare high-power transponders in Ku-band, using 106-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers. BSAT-1a will be stationed at 110 degrees East longitude and will have more than 12.5 years of propellant life.

BSAT-1a is the 47th spacecraft to be launched in the popular HS 376 series. Hughes Space and Communications Company, a unit of Hughes Electronics, is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built more than 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.