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ORBITAL REACHES DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO SELL MAGELLAN GPS SUBSIDIARY TO THALES FOR $70 MILLION

Divestiture of Subsidiary to Continue Company's Strategic Refocusing on Core Space Technology Businesses and to Improve Balance Sheet

(Dulles, VA 29 May 2001) - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement with Thales Group to sell the company's Magellan Corporation majority-owned subsidiary and its interest in Navigation Solutions LLC (NavSol), a joint venture with The Hertz Corporation, for approximately $70 million. Orbital aims to close the transaction by the end of June, subject to certain closing conditions, and plans to use its portion of the proceeds from the sale to reduce debt, to boost cash reserves for working capital and for other general corporate purposes.

Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "With today's agreement to sell our Magellan subsidiary to Thales, and our previously announced transaction to sell another subsidiary, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, we have taken several major steps in our campaign to refocus Orbital on its core space technology businesses and to strengthen the company's financial position as we aggressively seek to restore and increase value to our shareholders."

"In addition, as part of Thales' broader worldwide electronics business, Magellan should have greater opportunities to develop the full potential of its state-of-the-art GPS technology. Similarly, NavSol should benefit from Thales' involvement as it continues to develop automotive services with Hertz," Mr. Thompson added.

About Magellan
Magellan is one of the world's leading manufacturers global positioning system (GPS) products used by outdoor recreation, marine and automotive consumers for navigation purposes and by professional customers for highly-accurate surveying and mapping applications. Based in Santa Clara, CA, Magellan employs approximately 370 people at major facilities in California's Silicon Valley and Los Angeles areas, as well as in several other states and international locations. NavSol is based in Plano, TX and employs approximately 75 people, primarily in Texas and Michigan.

About Thales Group
Thales is a European leader and global front-runner in professional electronics in three key markets: Aerospace, Defense and Information Technology & Services. The Group employs 65,000 people worldwide, of whom 50% are based outside of France. Present in nearly 50 countries, Thales generated revenues of 8.6 billion Euros in 2000 ($7.9 billion*), 70% of which came from international sales. (* Average exchange rate for 2000: 1 Euro = US$ 0.9175)

About Orbital
Orbital is one of the world's leading manufacturers of low-cost space systems, including satellites, launch vehicles, electronics and sensors, and satellite ground systems. Orbital is also involved with satellite-based networks that provide wireless data communications and high-resolution Earth imagery to customers all around the world.

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