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The satellite, TDRS-H, is one of three Tracking and Data Relay System spacecraft being built by Hughes. It is undergoing a rigorous period of thermal-vacuum testing in preparation for its scheduled launch this summer.

This testing, which simulates the vacuum and extreme heat and cold of space, is one of the final phases before the satellite is shipped to Cape Canaveral, Fla., for launch. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has selected an Atlas IIA rocket to launch TDRS-H. Hughes will deliver TDRS-I and J for launch next year.

"We're doubling NASA's communications capacity, as compared with the previous generation of spacecraft, with the inclusion of a Ka-band payload," said Michael J. Gianelli, HSC vice president for government operations. "This augments the current service in Ku- and S-bands. In addition, advanced beam-forming capabilities enable the satellites to communicate with multiple spacecraft simultaneously."

Hughes won a $481.6 million firm fixed-price (FFP) contract Feb. 22, 1995, to build the next-generation TDRS satellites for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This was the first FFP satellite contract awarded by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center of Greenbelt, Md. "It signaled a new, more commercial way of doing business with NASA," Gianelli said.

The spacecraft are medium-power versions of the HS 601 model, designed to operate for 11 years. Through them, NASA has links with the space shuttle, the International Space Station and unmanned spacecraft in low earth orbit. (Hughes also built the space shuttle's Integrated Radar and Communications System, which relays signals to and from TDRS.) To support the increased communications capacity, HSC is upgrading the two TDRS stations at White Sands, N.M.

TDRS-H is the fifth satellite to use Hughes' new 63,000-cubic-foot thermal-vacuum chamber since it was completed almost a year ago. Hughes' Integrated Satellite Factory has a total of 600,000 square feet of manufacturing space, making it the largest satellite factory in the world. Virtually every phase of satellite manufacturing is accomplished within these walls: design, fabrication, component integration, and testing at the unit, subsystem and completed spacecraft levels.

HSC is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built nearly 40 percent of those in operation. It also is a major supplier of spacecraft and equipment to the U.S. government. These include relay satellites for the National Reconnaissance Organization, communications satellites and payloads for the Department of Defense, and the GOES next-generation weather satellites for the United States.

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.