* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: MEASAT-3 satellite

Blobrana · L

A Proton Breeze M launch vehicle successfully placed the MEASAT-3 satellite into orbit today, for the final mission of the year for International Launch Services (ILS).
The launcher lifted off at 5:28 a.m. today local time (6:28 p.m. Monday EST, 23:28 Monday GMT). The mission lasted 9 hours and 12 minutes before MEASAT-3 was released into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. This was the fourth Proton launch of the year for ILS. ILS has exclusive rights to market and manage missions on the Russian Proton vehicle for commercial satellite customers worldwide.
The satellite is a 601HP model built for MEASAT Satellite Systems (MEASAT) Sdn Bhd by Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc. From its final orbital position of 91.5 degrees East longitude, MEASAT-3 will serve customers in more than 100 countries at C-band and in Malaysia, Indonesia and South Asian with DTH-quality Ku-band coverage. This was MEASAT's first launch on an ILS Proton vehicle, as well as the 10th 601 model spacecraft launched on Proton.

"This is the first satellite to be launched for MEASAT in a decade, and we're pleased that ILS and Proton have played a part in this important event. We're proud of the accuracy with which Proton delivered the satellite to orbit. Today's successful performance validates MEASAT's confidence in our vehicle, and we hope to convert this confidence into additional opportunities to work with MEASAT" - ILS President Frank McKenna.

"We are very pleased with the successful launch of MEASAT-3. The satellite, which is central to the expansion of our DTH and broadcast distribution business, is expected to begin operations by 1 February 2007. We extend our heartfelt thanks to ILS, and their Russian partners, for a professionally executed launch campaign" - Paul Brown-Kenyon, chief operating officer of MEASAT.

The Proton vehicle, built by ILS partner Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre of Russia, has carried out 323 missions for the Russian government and commercial customers over more than 40 years.
ILS is a joint venture between Space Transport Inc., Khrunichev and RSC Energia. ILS is incorporated in Delaware in the United States, and is headquartered in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C.
MEASAT is a premium supplier of satellite communications services to DTH operators, broadcasters and telecommunications companies across Southeast and Northeast Asia. This addition of the MEASAT-3 satellite will expand the MEASAT fleet to over 100 countries representing over 70 percent of the world's population.

Source

Blobrana · L

According to the Russian Federal Space Agency, a Russian Proton-M rocket that blasted off at 23:28 GMT, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and successfully orbited the Malaysian telecommunications satellite Measat 3 on Monday.

The launch was through a contract arranged by Russian-U.S. enterprise International Launch Services late in 2004. Measat 3 will service Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Australia, Malaysia, China, and India.

Blobrana · L

A International Launch Services (ILS) Proton will launch the MEASAT-3, Boeing 601HP platform from Launch Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 5:28 a.m. Dec. 12 Baikonur, (23:28 Dec. 11 GMT),
The MEASAT-3 satellite will provide high-powered C-band coverage over more than 100 countries comprising more than 70 percent of the world's population, and DTH-quality Ku-band coverage to over 160 million TV households in Malaysia, Indonesia and South Asia.

Satellite Statistics:
* 24 C-band transponders
* 24 Ku-band transponders
* Orbital location: 91.5 degrees East longitude
* Contractual service life of 15 years

Payload: MEASAT-3
Separated Mass: Approx. 4,765 kg

Launch Vehicle: Proton M/Breeze M
Weight at Liftoff: 691,272 kg, including payload
Height: 56.2 m

Target Orbit at Separation: Apogee: 35,786 km; Perigee: 7,360 km; Inclination: 16.5 degrees

The Proton launch vehicle will inject the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, using a five-burn Breeze M mission design. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent trajectory to place the Breeze M fourth stage, with the satellite, into a suborbital trajectory, from which the Breeze M will place itself and the spacecraft into a circular parking orbit of 173 km, inclined at 51.5 degrees. Then the satellite will be propelled to its transfer orbit by additional burns of the Breeze M. Following separation from the Breeze M, the spacecraft will perform a series of liquid apogee engine burns to raise perigee, lower inclination and circularise the orbit at the geostationary altitude of 35,786 km.

Spacecraft Separation will be at approximately 9 hours, 12 minutes after liftoff.

Blobrana · L

Blobrana · L

Boeing and MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd (MEASAT) announced today that the MEASAT-3 communications satellite has been shipped from the Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems satellite manufacturing facility in El Segundo, California, to the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where it will be readied for a December launch aboard an International Launch Services Proton/Breeze M rocket.
The Boeing 601 HP satellite was manufactured for MEASAT by Boeing Satellite Systems International and will join the existing MEASAT-1 and MEASAT-2 satellites to expand the MEASAT satellite fleet providing coverage over the wider Asia-Pacific region to direct-to-home, broadcasting and telecommunications customers. Boeing also has provided upgrades to the MEASAT Teleport and Broadcasting Center located just outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"The shipment of MEASAT-3 represents another key milestone toward enabling MEASAT to provide services capable of reaching customers in more than 100 countries. With the addition of the third Boeing-built satellite to MEASAT's existing fleet, Boeing technology will serve an area that represents two-thirds of the world's population" - Stephen T. O'Neill, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc.

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 36 MHz of bandwidth over a 15-year service life. MEASAT-3's C-band payload will provide service over a region, including Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa, representing 70 percent of the world's population. The Ku-band payload has been designed to provide high-powered, flexible service options for the development direct-to-home applications across Malaysia, Indonesia and South Asia.