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ORBITAL AND NASA COMPLETE EARLY MILESTONE IN DART FLIGHT DEMONSTRATOR PROJECT

Successful Completion of Systems Requirements Review Allows Orbital to Proceed with Project's Design and Manufacturing Phases

(Dulles, VA 13 November 2001) - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced today that a critical early milestone in the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) project has been achieved. The System Requirement Review (SRR) was completed by Orbital and approved by NASA in October. The SRR provides a clear roadmap for the technology and system capabilities that will be required to enable the DART project to achieve its overall objectives. Orbital's DART project will now move forward with the design and manufacturing activities of the space technology demonstration vehicle.

In May 2001, Orbital was awarded a $47 million contract for the DART project under NASA's Space Launch Initiative, a program to develop technologies and lead to the creation of a second generation reusable launch vehicle. NASA plans flight demonstrations of key hardware and software technologies in relevant ascent, orbit and reentry environments to reduce risks prior to the development of a new vehicle. The DART project is designed to validate hardware and software critical to automated in-orbit rendezvous and capture operations. Together with industry partner Charles Stark Draper Laboratory and Advanced Optical Systems (AOS), Orbital will design, manufacture, launch and flight test a technology demonstration spacecraft to be carried aboard a Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The DART vehicle will conduct a series of rendezvous maneuvers with an orbiting satellite to demonstrate autonomous proximity operations. The DART flight demonstration is planned for 2004.

"The completion of the Systems Requirements Review is a vital first step toward a successful mission," said Mr. Tim Rumford, Orbital's DART Project Manager. "The SRR process went extremely well, with Orbital and NASA teams working together to move the DART project to its next developmental phase."

Commenting for NASA, Mr. Chris Calfee, the space agency's DART Project Manager, said, "The entire DART Project Team, including Orbital and NASA representatives, is to be commended for its performance in completing this very important milestone. The successful conclusion of the SRR allows us to proceed toward completing the project's next milestone, the Preliminary Design Review."