MEASAT-3 satellite shipped to Kazakhstan for December launch

KUALA LUMPUR: MEASAT-3 communications satellite, which is scheduled for a December launch, has been shipped from the Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems satellite manufacturing facility in El Segundo, California, to Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 

Measat Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd and Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc jointly announced yesterday that MEASAT-3 would expand the MEASAT-1 and MEASAT-2 satellites fleet to provide extended coverage over the wider Asia-Pacific region for Measat’s direct-to-home (DTH), broadcasting and telecommunications customers. 

Boeing also provided the associated hardware and software for telemetry, tracking and control of the MEASAT-3 satellite from the Measat Teleport and Broadcasting Centre in Cyberjaya. 

“The shipment of MEASAT-3 enables Measat to provide services capable of reaching customers in more than 100 countries,” Boeing president Stephen T. O’Neill said in a statement. 

MEASAT-3 will be co-located with MEASAT-1 at 91.5 degrees east longitude. It will provide 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band high-powered transponders, each providing 36MHz of bandwidth over a 15-year service life. 

The C-band payload will provide services to Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa. The Ku-band payload will provide high-powered, flexible service options for the development of DTH applications across Malaysia, Indonesia and South Asia.