Palapa-C1 satellite ready for launching

Palapa-C1 satellite ready for launching

By I. Christianto

COCOA BEACH, Florida (JP): Palapa-C1, the first of Indonesia's
new generation of telecommunication satellites, is ready to be
launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, tomorrow at 7:50 p.m.
(Feb. 1 at 7:50 a.m., Indonesian Western Time Zone).

Palapa-C1, which will replace the Palapa-B2P satellite at 113
degrees east longitude, is owned and will be operated by PT
Satelindo, one of the country's private telecommunications
providers.

Satelindo's general manager for corporate relations, Iwan
Krisnadi, said here yesterday that the launching of the satellite
largely depends on four aspects: the readiness of the satellite,
the readiness of the launch vehicle, the readiness of the
satellite owner's master control station and the weather
throughout the launch schedule.

"Hughes of the United States, the manufacturer of Palapa-C1,
said that the satellite is Ok for launching, while Satelindo and
American Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the satellite's
launch vehicle Atlas IIAS, have also OK'd the launch plans," he
said. "So the launch readiness will depend on the weather."

Iwan said he was optimistic that the launch would be
successful because the weather report said that it would be
partly cloudy but not raining on Wednesday.

He said there will be a review of the launch readiness today,
which will involve executives from Satelindo, Hughes and Lockheed
as well as a weather advisor.

The launching, he said, will involve a panel consisting of
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave as the
advisor of the Palapa-C1 launching mission and Director General
of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria Purawidjaja as a senior
mission director.

"On the launching day, Minister Joop will be ready at
Satelindo's controlling station in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta,
while Djakaria will be in Cape Canaveral," he said, adding that
the panel in Cape Canaveral will also include Indonesian
Ambassador to the United States Arifin Siregar as the host of the
mission and Satelindo's director of satellites, Sahala Silalahi,
as the mission director.

Sequence

According to Iwan, the launching, to be carried out by the
International Launch Services, will receive the "go" or "no go"
command from Sahala.

"The launching mission will depend by about 80 percent on the
weather. If the speed of the wind exceeds 23 knots, or if there's
cloud which may cause threatening thunder, the mission will be
postponed until the following day."

He said that strong wind might change the vehicle's direction,
while thunder might cause a blast.

Iwan said that there will be three major events in the Palapa-
C1 launch sequence.

"First is liftoff, second is the spacecraft separation which
will occur about 30 minutes after the launch, and third is when
Satelindo's controlling station in Jakarta receives a Palapa-C1
signal about 60 minutes after the launch."

Indonesians will witness the three events through live
transmissions by the state-owned TVRI, he added.

Palapa-C1 is expected to reach its orbit and to be in service
on March 23 after a seven-day traffic transfer from Palapa-B2P's
control station in Cibinong, West Java.

Satelindo, set up in 1993 to provide various telecommunication
services, is 45 percent owned by a subsidiary of the Bimantara
Group, a conglomerate chaired by one of President Soeharto's
sons, 25 percent by DeTeMobil, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom
of Germany, 22.5 percent by PT Telkom and 7.5 percent by PT
Indosat. The last two firms are state owned. Besides operating
satellites, Satelindo also runs international and digital
cellular telecommunications services.

The Palapa-C series are set to replace the current B series
operated by Telkom.

The lessees of Palapa-C1 transponders include mostly
television broadcasters from Indonesia and other countries within
the Asia-Pacific region, which are currently using Palapa-B2P
transponders.

The satellite, with a lifespan of about 14 years, has 34
transponders.

Satelindo has invested about US$400 million in Palapa-C1 and
Palapa-C2. Palapa-C2 will be launched by France-based Arianespace
in April.