An artist's concept of the Galaxy 3C satellite fully deployed in orbit. Photo: Boeing

PanAmSat Corporation announced that it had successfully completed the final customer transition to its Galaxy 3C satellite, making the spacecraft the 22nd in its global fleet.

Operating at 95 degrees west longitude, Galaxy 3C will support some of the world's video and telecommunications powerhouses for their operations across North America, South America and the Caribbean. At the commencement of service, approximately 70 percent of the transponders on Galaxy 3C were already under contract with customers.

"The successful transition of customers on to Galaxy 3C marks the completion of our fleet upgrade program over four years at a cost of over $2.5 billion, which is now behind us, resulting in a satellite fleet with the greatest average lifespan in the industry. Our primary focus now is increasing the utilization of our satellites, which are operating at 70 percent of capacity. By beginning service on Galaxy 3C, PanAmSat has done what it set out to do -- provide its customers with one of the most modern, flexible and reliable fleets in the market," said Joe Wright, president and chief executive officer of PanAmSat.

Launched on June 15, 2002, Galaxy 3C is a Boeing 702-model satellite containing 24 C-band and 52 Ku-band transponders. Galaxy 3C takes over for Galaxy 3R and Galaxy 8i, which will continue to provide partial services at 95 degrees west longitude. Customers were transitioned from Galaxy 3R to Galaxy 3C including DIRECTV Latin America. DIRECTV Latin America, which was also transitioned from Galaxy 8i, will use the satellite's extended Ku-band payload for distribution of its Direct-To-Home programming. This new satellite is the latest and most powerful addition to the coveted Galaxy neighborhood that serves nine of the top 10 cable networks in North America. In total, PanAmSat's fleet has an average remaining life of over nine years and is one of the youngest fleets in the industry.

"On October 29, Galaxy 3C successfully completed comprehensive in-orbit testing and entered commercial service with our customers' signals undergoing a flawless transition from Galaxy 3R," said Jim Frownfelter, executive vice president and chief technology officer of PanAmSat. "PanAmSat's accomplished team of technical professionals established a proactive approach to the spacecraft transition, coordinating efforts between our customers and our operations team to efficiently activate service for all parties involved."

With the largest Ku-band payload of all PanAmSat's fleet, Galaxy 3C has attracted such leading customers as Arch Wireless, DIRECTV Latin America, Chevron, China Central TV, Hughes Network Systems, MicroSpace, Radianz, The SPACECONNECTION, Verestar, Inc and ViaSat. Additionally, Galaxy 3C joins four other PanAmSat satellites Galaxy 11, Galaxy 10R, Galaxy 5 and Galaxy 9, as part of the "Power of Five" antenna program which provides cable operators with simultaneous access to five Galaxy neighborhood satellites, ensuring continuous delivery to cable head-ends.

PanAmSat Corporation is the premier provider of global video and data broadcasting services via satellite. Operating a global network of 22 in-orbit spacecraft, the company reaches 98 percent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies. PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by HUGHES Electronics Corporation.

HUGHES is a world-leading provider of digital television entertainment, broadband services, satellite-based private business networks, and global video and data broadcasting. HUGHES is a unit of General Motors Corporation. The earnings of HUGHES are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock.