-- Production Ramp-Up Marks First Activity for Newly Created Foreign
Trade Zone --
GILBERT, Ariz.Mar. 27, 2014--
Orbital
Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world s leading space
technology companies, today announced that it has started production of
81 satellites for the Iridium
NEXT program as part of a contract between Orbital and Iridium s
prime contractor, French-Italian aerospace company Thales Alenia Space.
Orbital will complete the assembly, integration, test and launch support
phases for this second-generation global communications satellite
constellation at its satellite manufacturing facility in Gilbert, AZ.
The commencement of production also signifies the opening of a Foreign
Trade Zone (FTZ) at the Gilbert facility, which allows Orbital to reduce
program costs by importing foreign-sourced hardware from Thales Alenia
Space.
Ten years ago, this factory was created with large scale production in
mind, said Jason Yocum, Orbital s Senior Program Director for the
Iridium NEXT production program. Today, at the Gilbert facility, we
produce cutting-edge satellites that are executed with the highest
degree of excellence and professionalism. As always, we appreciate the
support we have received from the Town of Gilbert as we begin to use
this unique facility for its intended purpose as an international
high-rate satellite production factory.
Orbital worked closely with the Town of Gilbert to develop the new FTZ,
enabling the company to develop a highly efficient satellite production
line. Orbital will integrate a total of 81 satellites for the
constellation, including 66 low-Earth orbit operational satellites, six
in-orbit spares, and nine ground-backup spacecraft, over the next three
years. Orbital s responsibilities also include ground support equipment,
primary and hosted payload integration, shipment and launch integration
services.
We thank Orbital for their partnership and cooperation in creating
Gilbert s first Foreign Trade Zone, said John Lewis, Mayor of Gilbert,
AZ. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to prepare for a project of
this magnitude and we are excited for this international effort to be
happening here in Gilbert.
Scheduled to begin launching in 2015, Iridium NEXT will fully replace
Iridium s current satellite constellation of 66 cross-linked low-Earth
orbit (LEO) satellites that cover 100 percent of the globe. It will
dramatically enhance Iridium s ability to meet the rapidly-expanding
demand for truly global mobile communications on land, at sea and in the
skies.
Over the past three years, our teams have been working diligently to
produce the best-designed satellite and to validate that design in
preparation for production, said Scott Smith, Chief Operating Officer,
Iridium Communications Inc. Team members from all over the world have
been working together to challenge the processes, build hardware for
validation testing and work to make this process as efficient as
possible. All of this hard work has paid off and we look forward to a
steady production of high quality satellites for our new network from
this facility.
About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite
communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables
connections between people, organizations and assets to and from
anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner
companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable
solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The
company has a major development program underway for its next-generation
network Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in
McLean, VA, U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global
Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about
Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit http://www.iridium.com.
About Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and
Finmeccanica (33%), is a key European player in space
telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, exploration and
orbital infrastructures. Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio form the two
parent companies Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of
services and solutions. Because of its unrivaled expertise in dual
(civil/military) missions, constellations, flexible payloads, altimetry,
meteorology and high-resolution optical and radar instruments, Thales
Alenia Space is the natural partner to countries that want to expand
their space program. The company posted consolidated revenues in excess
of 2 billion euros in 2013, and has 7,500 employees in six countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com
About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and
space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers.
The company s primary products are satellites and launch vehicles,
including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary
spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense
missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other
missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into
orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and
target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite subsystems and
space-related technical services to government agencies and
laboratories. More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com.
Follow the company on Twitter @OrbitalSciences.

Source: Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Barron Beneski, 703-406-5528
Public
and Investor Relations
beneski.barron@orbital.com