The Hague, The Netherlands, April 15, 2002 – New Skies Satellites N.V. (AEX, NYSE: NSK), the global satellite communications company, has completed preparations for the April 16 launch of its high-powered NSS-7 Atlantic Ocean region satellite. This will be the first launch of a Dutch commercial communications satellite.

NSS-7 also will be New Skies’ first new satellite since its creation in 1998 and the beginning of an expansion campaign that will double the company’s in-orbit resources by year-end 2003, providing state-of-the-art capacity and services in every major market.

The 4,700-kilogram NSS-7, built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, will lift off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 4 rocket. Arianespace, the European commercial launch services provider, operates the Ariane 4 launch vehicle. The launch window on the evening of April 16 is between 22:53 P.M. (April 16) and 00:14 P.M. (April 17) Greenwich Mean Time (7:53 P.M. – 9:14 P.M. local Kourou time). The launch can be watched live on New Skies’ website, www.newskies.com.

NSS-7 will succeed the NSS-K and NSS-803 satellites at 338.5 degrees East longitude over the Atlantic Ocean, and will offer enhanced coverage of the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The spacecraft will retire NSS-K and free NSS-803 to be re-positioned over the Pacific Ocean at 183 degrees East. Upon reaching its new orbital location, NSS-803 will replace the NSS-513 satellite and provide more robust capacity for services throughout the Asia-Pacific region as well as trans-oceanic connectivity to the United States.

“The launch of NSS-7 will allow us to add more advanced and higher-power capacity to two established orbital locations, positioning us as a leading provider of space-based communications services in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean regions for years to come,” said Dan Goldberg, New Skies’ chief executive officer. “With our expansion plans, we are building one of the youngest, most reliable and highly competitive global satellite fleets in the industry.”

“NSS-7’s Ku-band beams in Central and South America, as well as Western and Southern Africa, will offer more efficient transmission capabilities to broadcasters and VSAT service providers, and will add much-needed incremental Ku-band capacity to New Skies’ inventory in the Atlantic Ocean region,” Goldberg continued. “In addition, NSS-803 at 183 degrees East will form a vital link in our worldwide network, relaying bi-directional traffic between the United States and the Pacific Rim.”

NSS-7 will offer current and potential customers a full complement of services, including video distribution and contribution, Internet backbone connectivity, corporate business networking as well as telephony and data services. The satellite will combine the existing television and Internet services on NSS-K with the substantial video and data traffic on NSS-803, debuting with an established video, IP and telecom neighborhood.

Existing customers on NSS-K and NSS-803 are expected to be transitioned to NSS-7 by August. The satellite will be operated from the New Skies satellite operations center in The Hague.

The NSS-7 design is based on Lockheed Martin’s A2100AX platform and boasts a communications payload consisting of nearly 3,500 MHz of capacity. The bandwidth is spread over 36 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders in 11 high-powered coverage beams, which are focused on key developed and emerging markets.

NSS-7 highlights:

 Continuity of service at the 338.5 degrees East longitude location for video distribution, Internet, telephony, government, news and development agency customers.
 Better power distribution will allow for smaller, more efficient receive systems or higher throughput for the delivery of Internet and data services.
 Flexible C- and Ku-band beams that can be easily cross-strapped or interconnected, offering enhanced connectivity between regions and making it possible to tailor capacity to match current and evolving Internet and video traffic patterns in the Atlantic Ocean Region.
 Greatly extended and improved Ku-band coverage, now incorporating all of Europe and the Middle East in a single beam.
 High-powered Ku-band capacity over West Africa, offering connectivity to Europe, North America or within the region.
 All-new, high-power Ku-band coverage of Central and South America, ideally suited for TV distribution within the region or from North America.
 Increased C-band capacity for IP traffic between North and South America.
 Extended and improved Ku-band coverage over North America.

About New Skies Satellites
New Skies Satellites (AEX, NYSE: NSK) is one of only four fixed satellite communications companies with truly global satellite coverage, offering video, voice, data and Internet communications services to a range of telecommunications carriers, broadcasters, large corporations and Internet service providers around the world. New Skies has five satellites in geosynchronous orbit and ground facilities around the world. In addition to NSS-7, the company also has two new spacecraft under construction, which are planned to serve the Americas and Asia from two new orbital locations. In line with its growth strategy, the company has secured certain rights to make use of four additional orbital positions. New Skies is headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, and has offices in London, Johannesburg, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Washington, D.C. Additional information is available at www.newskies.com.

--END--

Additional information is available at http://www.newskies.com
or please contact:
Elizabeth Hess, New Skies Satellites
Tel: +31 70 306 4133 Mobile +31 6 290 62 492
ehess@newskies.com

Safe Harbor
Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 provide a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements made by an issuer of publicly traded securities and persons acting on its behalf. New Skies Satellites N.V. has made certain
forward-looking statements in this document in reliance on those safe harbors. A forward-looking statement concerns the company’s or management’s intentions or expectations, or are predictions of future performance. These statements are identified by words such as “intends”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “may”, “will”, “should” and similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements are not a matter of historical fact and involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause New Skies’ actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements for a number of reasons. Factors which may affect the future performance of New Skies include: delays or problems in the construction or launch of
future satellites; technical performance of in-orbit satellites and earth-based infrastructure; increased competition and changes in technology; growth of and access to the company’s target markets; legal and regulatory developments affecting the company’s business; and worldwide
business and economic conditions, among other things. These risks and other risks affecting New Skies’ business are described in the company's periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to New Skies’ Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2000. Copies of these filings may be obtained by contacting the
SEC. New Skies disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this document.