[1] The satellite was intended to provide video, radio, data, and telephone services to about 2/3 of the world's population.
[2] The Hughes Failure Investigation Team found that excess vibration had caused a rocket fairing to fail due to a structural deficiency.
The Apstar 2 failure investigation caused great political controversy in the United States.
[4] Hughes had received a license from the Commerce Department in 1993 to export the satellite temporarily to China for launch.
In 1998, the U.S. Congress reclassified satellite technology as a munition and returned it to the control of the State Department under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.