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ORBITAL SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCTS STATIC FIRE TEST OF NEW LOW-COST ROCKET ENGINE

Upper Stage Engine to be Used on Future NASA and U.S. Air Force Space Vehicles

(DULLES, VA 14 June 1999) – Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) today announced that it has successfully tested an advanced, low-cost upper stage rocket engine that the company is developing for the Upper Stage Flight Experiment (USFE) program, a joint program between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Air Force. The test occurred in a special facility at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The pressure-fed USFE engine, which uses a non-toxic hydrogen peroxide propellant, was static fired for 140 seconds, demonstrating its ability to provide 10,000 pounds of thrust.

The USFE engine will now be combined with other flight components such as avionics, thrust vector control and advanced propellant tank structures to create a full-scale rocket stage. It will then be flight tested in late 2001 on a suborbital launch vehicle that Orbital is currently building for the Air Force. Once all USFE development work and testing is complete, the engine is planned to be used as an upper stage and propulsion system for future reusable launch vehicles, crew transport vehicles and space planes.

“The successful USFE test marks a significant milestone in the creation of upper stage rocket engines for government and commercial applications,” said Mr. J. R. Thompson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Orbital’s Launch Systems Group. “Using non-toxic and environmentally clean propellants, this engine will also help to lower the cost and improve the safety of future space vehicle operations.”

“As NASA’s primary center for testing and flight-certifying rocket propulsion systems for the Space Shuttle and future space vehicles, we are extremely proud to be participating in this ground-breaking program,” said Mr. Roy Estess, Director of the Stennis Space Center. “The USFE program is demonstrating the kind of advanced features that will become standard with next-generation propulsion systems.”

Orbital is already one of the world’s leading launch services companies, having conducted over 130 rocket launches in the last 15 years. With its pair of proven, cost-effective space launch vehicles, the air-launched Pegasus and the larger, ground-launched Taurus, Orbital has delivered over 65 satellites into orbit since 1990. Orbital is also one of the world’s leading manufacturers and operators of suborbital rockets, used most often by U.S. Department of Defense customers to test defensive missile systems and other advanced technologies. Additionally, Orbital is developing the X-34 rocketplane for NASA to demonstrate reusable launch vehicle technologies, as well as to host hypersonic aerospace research projects and micro-gravity experiments.

Orbital is one of the largest space and information systems companies in the world, with 1998 revenues of about $735 million. The company, which is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, employs over 5,000 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