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Contact: Barron Beneski, (703) 406-5000, beneski.barron{at}orbital.com

ORBITAL SET TO LAUNCH ORBVIEW-3 IMAGING SATELLITE ABOARD PEGASUS
SPACE LAUNCH VEHICLE

High-Resolution Imaging Satellite Developed and Built by Orbital
Mission Will be 34th Flight of Company's Air-Launched Rocket

(Dulles, VA 24 June 2003) -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB)
today announced that it is in final preparations to launch the
OrbView-3 high-resolution imaging satellite that the company designed
and built for Orbital Imaging Corporation (ORBIMAGE) aboard a
Pegasus rocket later this week. The launch is currently scheduled to
take place on Thursday, June 26, 2003 and will originate from
Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The available launch
window for the OrbView-3 mission extends from 2:50 p.m. to 3:04 p.m.
(EDT). This operational schedule is subject to the completion of
final pre-launch activities, as well as acceptable weather conditions
at VAFB at the time of the launch.

The powered flight sequence for the OrbView-3 mission will take
approximately 10 minutes, from the time the Pegasus rocket is
released from the L-1011 carrier aircraft to the time that the
satellite is deployed into orbit. Orbital plans to launch the
304-kilogram OrbView-3 spacecraft into an initial "parking orbit,"
from which the spacecraft will be maneuvered into its final
operational orbit 470 kilometers above the Earth, inclined at 97
degrees to the equator.

About Pegasus
Pegasus is the world's leading launch system for the deployment of
small satellites into low-Earth orbit. Its patented air-launch
system, in which the rocket is launched from beneath Orbital's
"Stargazer" L-1011 carrier aircraft over the ocean, reduces cost and
provides customers with unparalleled flexibility to operate from
virtually anywhere on Earth with minimal ground support requirements.
Pegasus is the world's only small launch vehicle to have earned
NASA's Category 3 certification, which allows the U.S. space agency
to launch its most valuable payloads aboard the rocket. The Category
3 certification is achieved through a long-term record of highly
reliable launch services, such as the current record of 19
consecutive successful Pegasus missions carried out since 1997. 

The OrbView-3 mission will be the 34th flight of the Pegasus rocket
and the third of four planned missions in 2003. Earlier this year,
Orbital successfully launched two company-built scientific satellites
for NASA in separate missions. In January, Orbital launched NASA's
SORCE satellite aboard Pegasus and, in April, another Pegasus rocket
delivered NASA's GALEX satellite into orbit. Following the OrbView-3
mission, Orbital plans to launch the SciSat satellite for
NASA/Kennedy Space Center and the Canadian Space Agency later this
summer. 

About the OrbView-3 Satellite
Orbital designed, developed, built and tested the OrbView-3
spacecraft at the company's satellite manufacturing facility in
Dulles, Virginia. OrbView-3 will be one of only a few commercial
spacecraft with the capability of providing high-resolution imagery
from space to government and commercial customers. The
high-resolution digital imaging instrument aboard the OrbView-3
spacecraft will acquire one-meter resolution panchromatic (black and
white) and four-meter resolution multispectral (color) imagery.
ORBIMAGE will provide this imagery to customers around the world for
a wide-range of applications in the commercial, government and
consumer markets. With the ability to image virtually anywhere in the
world within three days, ORBIMAGE has established a global
distribution network to capture, process and deliver up-to-date basic
imagery, as well as high-resolution value-added products, through its
own capabilities and a network of imagery distribution partners.

About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small space systems for commercial,
civil government and military customers. The company's primary
products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-orbit,
geostationary and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote
sensing and scientific missions; ground- and air-launched rockets
that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense boosters that
are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also offers
space-related technical services to government agencies and develops
and builds satellite-based transportation management systems for
public transit agencies and private vehicle fleet operators. 

More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com

# # #

Note to Editors:

- Orbital and ORBIMAGE will provide live mission updates, beginning
at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) on launch day, as well as a mission overview and
high-resolution photos of the OrbView-3 satellite and Pegasus rocket.
The OrbView-3 Mission Central web page can be found at:
http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/MissionUpdates/ov3_central.html

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