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		 HSC Logo


BRASILSAT B-3 SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED

KOUROU, French Guiana, Feb. 4, 1998 -- The Brasilsat B-3 satellite, built by Hughes Space and Communications Company (HSC), was successfully launched today to provide expanded services for EMBRATEL, the leading Brazilian telecommunications company.

Liftoff was at 8:29 p.m. local time (3:29 p.m. PST, 23:29 GMT) at the space center in Kourou, French Guiana, aboard an Arianespace Ariane 44LP rocket. Hughes satellite controllers in Daan Mogot, Indonesia, made contact with the spacecraft approximately 37 minutes after launch, indicating the satellite is operating normally. After about a month of maneuvering and in-orbit testing by a combined Hughes/EMBRATEL team, the satellite will be turned over to EMBRATEL's controllers at Guaratiba, Brazil. For the next 12 years, Brasilsat B-3 will carry voice, data, corporate networks and television signals over 28 C-band transponders.

The launch had been scheduled for Jan. 30, but it was delayed four times because of high winds.

This is the third satellite in the Brasilsat B series built by Hughes in El Segundo, Calif. All are wide-body, spin-stabilized HS 376W models. Promon Engenharia SA of Sao Paulo shared in the ground station engineering work. Brazil's first-generation satellites also were Hughes HS 376 designs.

Hughes is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial geostationary communications satellites, having built nearly 40 percent of those in operation. As many as 16 HSC-built spacecraft are scheduled for launch in 1998 for commercial and government customers, from four sites around the world. 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.

###