EchoStar III Satellite Recovered and Retired

EchoStar and Lockheed Martin Teams Safely Relocate Satellite to Graveyard Orbit

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Sep 06, 2017, 11:00 ET

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Sept. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) announced today that the EchoStar III satellite has been successfully recovered following an anomaly that occurred in late July and retired per the FCC regulations.

"After the initial loss of contact, with a joint effort by EchoStar and Lockheed Martin, a command and control link was reestablished and deorbit maneuvers performed," said Derek de Bastos, chief technology officer for EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C. "EchoStar III is now safely in a graveyard orbit more than 350 kilometers above the geostationary arc with its fuel and pressurants depleted, batteries drained, and systems shut down."

EchoStar III, a Ku-band BSS satellite that provided coverage over the U.S., was a fully depreciated, non-revenue generating asset owned by EchoStar. Manufactured by Lockheed Martin and launched in 1997, EchoStar III exceeded its 15 year design life.

"Because of the robustness of the A2100 satellite design, our teams were able to command all the necessary recovery actions," said Barry Noakes, commercial satellite chief engineer at Lockheed Martin.

About EchoStar Satellite Services
EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C., a subsidiary of EchoStar Corp., is a world-class satellite operator with a fleet of 25 owned, leased and managed satellites. EchoStar Satellite Services delivers reliable and innovative solutions to the satellite industry, providing satellite communications infrastructure and services to media and broadcast organizations, pay-TV operators, enterprise customers and U.S. Government and military service providers. For more information, visit echostarsatelliteservices.com.

About EchoStar
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a premier global provider of satellite communication solutions. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in secure communications technologies through its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business segments.

About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

For more information, visit echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on Twitter.

SOURCE EchoStar Corporation