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ORBITAL WINS $23 MILLION SATELLITE CONTRACT

Company to Build Second Scientific Satellite for University of Colorado

(DULLES, VA 24 FEBRUARY 1999) – Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that it has been selected by the University of Colorado at Boulder to develop and build the $22.8 million Total Solar Irradiance Mission (TSIM) satellite. The five-year TSIM mission is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) ongoing Earth Science Enterprise (formerly Earth Observation System) program, for which Orbital is already building two other satellites, SOLSTICE/SAVE and ACRIMSAT. The scientific mission is being conducted under the direction of Principal Investigator Dr. Gary Rottman of the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), the same group that Orbital is working with on the SOLSTICE/SAVE satellite project.

The design, manufacturing and test processes for the TSIM satellite are planned to be completed in 2001. The satellite is expected to be launched aboard Orbital’s Pegasus rocket, although a launch contract has not yet been awarded to the company.

“We are delighted that NASA selected the LASP and Orbital team to execute the TSIM mission and continue our relationship on solar irradiance programs,” said Mr. Robert R. Lovell, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Space Systems Group. “For the TSIM mission, we will use our proven MicroStar satellite platform, of which there are 30 currently in orbit, including 28 satellites for our ORBCOMM Global data communications affiliate. We have also successfully demonstrated our ability to adapt the MicroStar platform for different types of missions, as shown by the OrbView-1 imaging satellite and the T-1 broadband technology demonstration spacecraft,” Lovell added.

Orbital is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of advanced small- and medium-class satellites, specializing in lightweight, cost-effective space systems. Orbital’s satellites are used in a wide variety of applications, such as for the ORBCOMM 28-satellite data communications network, the world’s second-largest commercial satellite system, as well as for scientific missions under NASA’s Small and Mid-class Explorer programs, for commercial Earth imaging missions such as ORBIMAGE’s family of satellites and Canada’s Radarsat-2 program, and for direct-to-home television broadcast systems that use larger, geosynchronous orbit satellites for commercial customers, such as Japan’s Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation.

Orbital is one of the largest space and information systems companies in the world, with 1998 revenues of $734 million. The company, which is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, employs over 4,500 people and has major facilities in nine states and several international 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, Orbital is also a pioneering operator of satellite networks that provide data communications and high-resolution imagery services to customers all around the world.

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