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

THOR II SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., May 20, 1997 -- Thor II, a communications satellite for Telenor of Oslo, Norway, was successfully launched today. This was the third launch of the year for a spacecraft built by Hughes Space and Communications Company (HSC).

Liftoff was at 6:39 p.m. EDT at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta II rocket. The spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle about 75 minutes later. About 8:09 p.m. EDT the Castle Rock tracking station in Colorado received Thor II's first signals, confirming that it is operating normally.

Thor II is an HS 376 spin-stabilized satellite. Hughes also built Thor I, which was purchased in orbit in 1992 from British Sky Broadcasting. The two-satellite fleet will deliver television and telephony/data services to five zones stretching from Scandinavia across the north Atlantic to Greenland, with the primary zone comprising Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Baltic states. Thor II will deliver direct-to-home television by means of 15 active Ku-band transponders, powered by 40-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs). The satellite uses gallium arsenide solar cells to generate more than 1400 watts of spacecraft power at end of life, and will rely on nickel-hydrogen batteries for power through eclipses. Thor II is designed to operate for more than 11 years and will be located at 0.8 degrees West longitude.

Thor II is the 48th spacecraft to be launched in the popular HS 376 series. Hughes is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built 40 percent of those in operation.

HSC is a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation. The earnings of Hughes Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to GMH (NYSE symbol) common stock.