Hong Kong – AsiaSat 5, a new generation communications satellite of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), is scheduled for launch at Hong Kong Time 3:47:33 a.m. on August 12 on an ILS Proton launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. AsiaSat 5 is a new satellite designed to replace AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East and to provide service continuity to all AsiaSat 2 users. Based on Space Systems/Loral’s 1300 satellite bus and equipped with leading edge but proven technology, AsiaSat 5 will provide advanced satellite services including television broadcast, telephone networks and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia services across Asia Pacific. AsiaSat 5 will carry 26 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders, and has a design life of 15 years. AsiaSat 5 will offer an enhanced pan Asian C-band footprint that covers more than 53 countries spanning from Russia to New Zealand and from Japan to the Middle East and parts of Africa. In addition to a powerful Ku-band East Asia beam, the new satellite will offer two new Ku-band beams – the South Asia beam and a steerable beam to satisfy market demands, and to offer full backup to AsiaSat 3S and AsiaSat 4. AsiaSat has also commenced the construction of AsiaSat 5C, a backup satellite for AsiaSat 5, at Space Systems/Loral’s manufacturing facility in the United States. Once AsiaSat 5 is successfully launched, AsiaSat 5C will be deployed to address the company’s other future needs.