Palapa-C1, Palapa-C2 to change orbital slots

JAKARTA (JP): PT Satelindo, a private firm which owns and operates the country's Palapa-C generation satellites, will change the orbits of the Palapa-C1 and Palapa-C2 satellites soon after the launching of the latter next Wednesday.

A Satelindo spokesman, Eddy Thoyib, said yesterday that the orbit exchange is necessary because Palapa-C1 has suffered an anomaly on its battery discharge controller, causing its four Ku- band transponders to operate less than optimally during solar eclipses.

The orbital slot replacement should provide proper services and transmissions for Palapa-C satellite users, he said.

The Palapa-C1, which was launched from Cape Canaveral in the United States in late January, began operating in March from its proper orbit at 113 degrees east longitude. Satelindo received information last February reporting a defect on the Palapa-C1.

Eddy said that the Palapa-C2, which will be launched by an Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana on May 15, was originally scheduled to work at 108 degrees east longitude.

Due to the anomaly on the Palapa-C1, the Palapa-C2 will replace the Palapa-C1 in the 113 degrees east longitude orbit, while Palapa-C1 will orbit at 150.5 degrees east longitude.

Both the Palapa-C1 and Palapa-C2 satellites are the body- stabilized version of the HS-601 model manufactured by Hughes Space Communications of the United States. The lifespan of each satellite is 13 years.

Each of the spacecraft has 34 transponders, comprising 24 C- band, six extended C-band and four Ku-band. Each of the Ku-band transponders has 50 dBW of power.

The replacement process is likely to reduce the lifespan of the Palapa-C1 satellite, meaning that Satelindo will receive reduced revenues from its transponder leasing business.

However, PT Jasindo, a state company which insures the Palapa- C1, is prepared to pay compensation to Satelindo due to the malfunctioning of four transponders on the satellite.

Jasindo, in cooperation with PT Citra International Underwriter and 17 other domestic and foreign insurance companies, insures the Palapa-C1 for US$164.88 million, covering it from the time of lift-off to the end of the satellite's operation period.

The leasing fee of each of the four Ku-band transponders has been set at $799,000 per year and their leasing fees, if they were being leased, would go to Jasindo. (icn)