Orbital is one of three companies selected for a competitive contract in support of the Consolidated Theater Targets Services (CTTS) program. The CTTS program could supply up to 300 launch vehicles over the contract's 10-year total duration and is estimated by the Army to be valued from $600 million to over $1 billion, depending on evolving target program requirements. Orbital stated that its contract could exceed $200 million in value for approximately 50 vehicles during the first five years of the CTTS program.

``Since the beginning of 1997, Orbital has won every competition it has entered for suborbital launch vehicles,'' said Mr. James R. Thompson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Orbital's Launch Systems Group. ``Our accomplishments in winning contracts for our wide variety of launch vehicles and our lengthy record of launch successes reflect the company's dedication to building high quality into every vehicle that we produce. With that work ethic, we look forward to supporting the Space and Missile Defense Command's CTTS program over the next ten years.''

The suborbital rockets that Orbital will supply under the CTTS contract will serve as target vehicles to test the country's Theater Missile Defense (TMD) systems. They will range in complexity from those rockets that offer a high-threat profile, using new launch methods, to other vehicles that will test the TMD system's performance and its tracking and cueing capabilities.

Orbital is a space and information systems company that designs, manufactures, operates and markets a broad range of affordable space infrastructure systems, satellite access products and satellite-provided services, including launch vehicles, satellites, sensors and electronics, satellite ground systems and software, satellite-based navigation and communications products, and satellite-delivered fixed and mobile communications and Earth imaging services.