HUGHES SPACE AND COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
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HUGHES WRAPS UP YEAR WITH PAS-6B LAUNCH FOR PANAMSAT (photo)

KOUROU, French Guiana, Dec. 18, 1998 -- The 11th Hughes-built satellite to be launched this year is being prepped at the Guiana Space Center in South America.

The satellite, built for PanAmSat Corporation by Hughes Space and Communications Company (HSC), is slated for liftoff on an Arianespace Ariane 42L rocket at 10:08 p.m. local time Monday (5:08 p.m. Monday PST, 01:08 Tuesday GMT). The spacecraft, PAS-6B, will provide direct-to-home television services in South America from its slot at 43 degrees West longitude over the Atlantic Ocean. A 10-kilowatt HS 601HP model with 32 active Ku-band transponders, the satellite was ordered from HSC in March.

PAS-6B carries the latest technological advancements in satellites: dual-junction gallium arsenide solar cells, which provide a significant increase in power over traditional silicon cells; and a xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS), which is 10 times more efficient than the propulsion systems currently in use and enables the satellite to carry more payload. PAS-6B is designed to provide a minimum of 15 years of service.

PanAmSat (NASDAQ: SPOT) is the world's leading commercial provider of satellite-based communications services. HSC is the world's largest manufacturer of geosynchronous commercial communications satellites, and a major supplier of spacecraft for communications and space exploration to the U.S. government and Japan. HSC, an ISO 9001 company, 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.

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