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Loral-Built Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR) Satellite Successfully Launched

Posted on: Thursday, 11 August 2005, 12:00 CDT

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR), a high-power, broadband satellite built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for Shin Satellite Plc of Thailand, was successfully launched today at 1:20 am PDT. The satellite was put into orbit aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

With a launch weight of 14,300 pounds (6486 kilograms), Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR) is the heaviest commercial satellite ever delivered to geosynchronous orbit. Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR) is designed to provide broadband services to both enterprises and consumers throughout 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The demand for increased broadband access across the globe is a key driver in the satellite manufacturing industry," said Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Loral Space & Communications. "With Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR) launched and additional satellites designed for expanded Internet access being manufactured at our Palo Alto facility, SS/L has proven itself as the leader in the development and production of these sophisticated and complex spacecraft."

The satellite has a massive total data throughput capacity of over 45 Gbps. It is designed to provide users with data speeds of up to four Mbps on the forward link and two Mbps on the return link. Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR) will use its seven on-board antennas to create 112 spot and regional beams in the Ku and Ka frequency bands. The satellite will generate 14 kW of electrical power throughout its planned 12-year service life.

Shin Satellite, a turnkey satellite operator, provides C- and Ku-band transponder leasing, teleport and other value-added and engineering services to users in Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. Shin Satellite owns and operates Thaicom 1A, Thaicom 2 and Thaicom 3. The satellites carry a total of 47 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders offering over 100 channels. Thaicom is the hot-bird for Indochina, an emerging platform of choice for transcontinental satellite television broadcasts from Europe to Australia. The company has spent years researching and developing new technology to make Internet via satellite more efficient, thus reducing costs and improving the service to end-users.

Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (BULLETIN BOARD: LRLSQ) , is a premier designer, manufacturer, and integrator of powerful satellites and satellite systems. SS/L also provides a range of related services that include mission control operations and procurement of launch services. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company has an international base of commercial and governmental customers whose applications include broadband digital communications, direct-to-home broadcast, defense communications, environmental monitoring, and air traffic control. SS/L satellites have amassed more than 1,200 years of reliable on-orbit service. SS/L is ISO 9001:2000 certified. For more information, visit http://www.ssloral.com/.

Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. In addition to Space Systems/Loral, through its Skynet subsidiary Loral owns and operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites used to broadcast video entertainment programming, and for broadband data transmission, Internet services and other value-added communications services. For more information, visit Loral's web site at http://www.loral.com/.

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In addition, Loral Space & Communications Ltd. or its representatives have made or may make forward- looking statements, orally or in writing, which may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases or oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer of the company. Actual results could differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements as a result of a wide variety of factors and conditions. These factors include those related to the filing, on July 15, 2003 by Loral and certain of its subsidiaries, of voluntary petitions for reorganization under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and parallel insolvency proceedings in the Supreme Court of Bermuda in which certain partners of KPMG were appointed as joint provisional liquidators. Additional factors and conditions are also described in the section of the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, entitled "Commitments and Contingencies," and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reader is specifically referred to these documents.

Space Systems/Loral

CONTACT: John McCarthy of Space Systems/Loral, +1-212-338-5345

Web site: http://www.ssloral.com/http://www.loral.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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