HUGHES SPACE AND COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY Communications and Customer Relations P.O. Box 92919 (S10/S323) Los Angeles, CA 90009 Media Relations (310) 364-6363 Investor Relations (310) 662-9688 www.hughespace.com

JCSAT-6 is the sixth spacecraft HSC has built for Japan Satellite Systems, Inc. (JSAT). Liftoff was at 8:45 p.m. Monday EST (01:45 Tuesday GMT, 10:45 a.m. Tuesday Tokyo) aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS rocket. The spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle about 30 minutes later. About 78 minutes after launch, JSAT's Yokohama Satellite Control Center received its first signals from the spacecraft.

"Everything looks great," said Jack Strand, JCSAT programs manager at Hughes. "Satellite controllers made contact with JCSAT-6 at 12:03 p.m. Tuesday Tokyo time (7:03 p.m. Monday PST). All systems are operating nominally. We'll begin in-orbit testing in about two-and-a-half weeks, and plan to hand over the satellite to the customer in six weeks."

From its orbital spot of 124 degrees East longitude, JCSAT-6 will relay broadcasting and other communications services to Japan through its 32 active Ku-band transponders. It is expected to provide at least 14.5 years of service. JCSAT-6 is the 46th spacecraft to be launched in the popular HS 601 body-stabilized series.

HSC is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built nearly 40 percent of those in operation. Hughes also built Japan's GMS weather satellites. 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.