Palapa-C2 communications satellite blasted into orbit

By Prapti Widinugraheni

KOUROU, French Guiana (JP): The Palapa-C2 communications satellite was propelled into orbit yesterday, courtesy of the Ariane 4 rocket, after overcoming last-minute hitches at the Jakarta-based ground control room and densely-clouded skies here.

Within 21 minutes after the launch, Indonesia's latest telecommunications satellite was released by Ariane 4 and headed towards its designated orbit.

The launch underwent a 34-minute delay from its original lift- off time of 10:56 p.m. (8:56 a.m. Jakarta time), creating a tense atmosphere in the Jupiter control room at the Guiana Space Center.

Officials said that an anomaly on the satellite-tracking system at Palapa-C2's ground control room, which is located at the headquarters of PT Satelindo -- the satellite's operator -- in Jakarta, held up the launching. Storm clouds around the launch pad added to the delay, they said.

Palapa-C2 was launched on a tandem flight with Israel's Amos satellite. The launching cost, estimated at between $100 million to $120 million excluding insurance, was shared by the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations.

Ariane 4 is a satellite vehicle developed by the European Space Agency consortium, Arianespace. Yesterday's trip was the 86th of the Ariane series of satellite vehicles.

The lift-off was observed by executives, government officials and guests from Indonesia and Israel from a special open-air viewing site about four kilometers from the launch pad.

In Jakarta, hundreds of officials and guests watched the event on a giant screen at Satelindo's headquarters on Jl. Daan Mogot. Among those present were Director General for Post and Telecommunications Djakaria Purawidjaja, Head of the Supreme Audit Agency J.B. Sumarlin and Jakarta Military Chief Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso.

Spectators both in Jakarta and Kourou cheered when they saw the separation of Palapa-C2 from Ariane 4 about 21 minutes after lift-off. The Amos satellite's release came four minutes later.

A heavy downpour followed minutes after the rocket took off.

Arianespace executives had earlier said that the launch would proceed, despite the clouds and rain that had prevailed for the last two days.

Didier Casse, Arianespace's mission director, said the rain should pose no hindrance and that the only weather problem feared was the formation of storm clouds and strong winds in the area.

Andreas Drittenpreis, the range operations manager, said a 40- minute launch window period -- later extended to 45 by Satelindo following Israel's consent -- allowed for weather changes to take place and minor reparations to be made during the halt of the count-down.

After about a 35-minute delay, Jakarta gave the green light, allowing the lift-off to take place. The count-down was automatically reset from six minutes before lift-off, the synchronized sequence time.

Satelindo was established in 1993 after the government opened up the satellite business to private operators. It is jointly owned by state-owned PT Indosat (7.5 percent) and PT Telkom (22.5 percent) along with private firms DeTeMobile of Germany (25 percent) and Bimagraha Telekomindo of the Bimantara Group (45 percent).

Palapa-C2 entered its geostationary orbit of 108 degrees East Longitude. The satellite, which was built by Hughes Space and Communications of the U.S., was scheduled to make its first acquisition with the control room in Jakarta 88 minutes after lift-off.

Sahala Silalahi, Satelindo's director for satellite systems, said the Palapa-C2 is insured for Rp 200 million, including for the cost of launching.

The Palapa-C2 is equipped with 34 transponders, of which 30 are C-Band and extended C-Band transponders (37 dBW) and four are Ku-Band transponders (50 dBW). The six extended C-Band transponders have been acquired by PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, whose shareholders include the giant Bimantara Group and Telkom.

The previous Palapa-A and Palapa-B series had 12 and 24 transponders respectively. They also had shorter life-spans than the Palapa-C series, with a life-span of over 14 years.

The Palapa-C series also has larger coverage area than its predecessors, extending westward from Iran to Vladivostok and southwards to Australia and New Zealand.

Indonesia presently operates four satellites: Palapa-B2R, Palapa-B4 and Palapa-C1. A new series of Palapa-D satellites will soon be developed, particularly to replace the Palapa-B2R, whose life-span will expire in 1999.

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