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Boeing Goes 2 For 2 In Launch Business

ST. LOUIS, June 10, 2003 - On a historic day in the launch industry,
Boeing Launch Services' customers successfully launched two
spacecraft within hours of each other from different vantage points
on the globe. Today, both Sea Launch and Delta II launch vehicles
proved once again, the ability of Boeing [NYSE: BA] to achieve
mission success for its launch customers. 

In an early morning launch from the equator the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL
lifted off its launch platform in the Pacific Ocean at 6:56 a.m. PDT
(13:56 GMT) and successfully placed the Thuraya-2 commercial
telecommunications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The
Boeing GEO-Mobile satellite was launched for Thuraya Satellite
Telecommunications Company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The
Thuraya mission was flown on the 6,000 kg Sea Launch configuration.
Boeing successfully acquired the satellite at approximately one hour
and 40 minutes after lift-off, with preliminary orbit data indicating
another on-target satellite placement for Sea Launch. 

Less than four hours later a Boeing Delta II was launched from Space
Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., during
an instantaneous launch window of 1:58:47 p.m. The first of two
scientific missions for NASA, the Mars Exploration Rover A, recently
named "Spirit," successfully separated from the Delta II launch
vehicle after 37 minutes and began its 7-month journey to Mars.

"The ability to provide launch services to two customers with
specific needs on the same day is exactly what Boeing Launch Services
is all about," said Will Trafton, Boeing Launch Services president
and vice president-general manager of Boeing Expendable Launch
Systems.

The second of the Mars missions, Mars Exploration Rover B, or
"Opportunity", is currently scheduled to launch on June 25 from Cape
Canaveral aboard a Delta II Heavy launch vehicle. Boeing has
successfully launched all of NASA' s Mars probes and rovers aboard
Delta II launch vehicles and hopes to continue NASA missions with the
unique, proven capabilities of the Delta II. 

A unit of The Boeing Company, Integrated Defense Systems is one of
the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in
St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $25 billion
business. It provides systems solutions to its global military,
government and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the world's largest
military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite
manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications;
the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's
largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services. 

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Contacts:

Robert Villanueva
Boeing Expendable Launch Systems
(714) 372-2089 Office
(714) 330-1781 Mobile

Paula Korn
Sea Launch LCC
(562) 499-4729 Office
(562) 254-5684 Mobile

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