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ORBITAL'S HIGH-SPEED SOLID STATE RECORDER SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES FULL MILITARY AIRCRAFT QUALIFICATION TESTING

(Dulles, VA 13 April 2000) -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that its High-Speed Solid-State Recorder (HSSR), produced by the company's Fairchild Defense division, has successfully passed full Military Qualification Tests. These tests demonstrated the new FLASH media recorder's maturity and readiness as a solid-state recording device for military fighter jets. Successful qualification testing included combined temperature-altitude, crash safety, shock, vibration, sand and dust, explosion, salt-fog and electromagnetic interference (EMI). The testing was performed in accordance with MIL-STD-810.

The HSSR is a next-generation data recording product designed for use in reconnaissance, instrumentation and telemetry systems on the world's highest-performance military aircraft. To date, the HSSR has flown in excess of 18 hours during several missions aboard the F-22 Raptor AC4001 and AC4002. It is currently in production for several international customers including the Royal Danish Air Force and EL OP Electro-Optics Industries of Rehovot, Israel.

Recent advances in solid-state FLASH memory chips for commercial applications have enabled Orbital to develop this next-generation solid-state recorder. The HSSR offers a cost-effective, highly reliable alternative to comparable tape systems, with its superior functionality and performance, as well as lower size, weight and power specifications. In addition, the flexibility of the system's architecture allows customers to select various interfaces and memory capacities up to 200 gigabytes.

Orbital's Fairchild Defense division, based in Germantown, Maryland, manages the development, production, integration and testing of a wide array of advanced electronics and avionics systems for use in military aircraft, helicopters and land vehicles, and is a leading supplier of airborne solid-state memory devices for military applications throughout the world.

Orbital is one of the largest space technology and satellite services companies in the world, with 1999 revenues of about $900 million. The company, which is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, employs over 5,200 people at its major facilities in the United States, Canada and several overseas locations. Orbital is the world's leading manufacturer of low-cost space systems and products, including satellites, launch vehicles, electronics and sensors, satellite ground systems and software, and satellite-based navigation and communications products. Through its ORBCOMM and ORBIMAGE affiliates and ORBNAV subsidiary, Orbital is also a pioneering operator of satellite-based networks that provide data communications, high-resolution imagery and automotive information services to customers all around the world.

Contact: Barron Beneski, 7034065000, beneski.barron@orbital.com