Telkom-1 satellite launch may be delayed
JAKARTA (JP): PT Telkom has not received formal notification from European space launcher Arianespace concerning a possible delay in the launch of its Telkom-1 satellite, a company spokesperson said on Thursday.
"Arianespace has not given us formal notification on the matter. So, Telkom will stick to the agreement to launch Telkom-1 in early July until we receive formal notice," Dodi Amirudin told The Jakarta Post.
He said if a delay was called, it would not be the first time.
"Telkom-1 was first scheduled to be launched on April this year, then it was delayed to July due to the unpreparedness of the co-passenger satellite."
Dodi said another delay, however, would not in anyway change the agreement between Telkom and Arianespace.
"We're not going to switch to other space launchers. We have made our agreement and paid all the expenses."
Delays do not cause any financial loss to Telkom, because under the existing agreement Telkom-1's manufacturer Lockheed Martin covers maintenance costs in the event of delays.
Arianespace's vice president for sales Philippe Berterottiere said on Wednesday the launching date of the new Telkom-1 satellite had been postponed.
"Telkom-1 cannot be launched as scheduled in July along with the Asiastar radio satellite," he told AFP.
He did not mention a new tentative schedule for the launching, or the reason for the delay.
Arianespace previously scheduled Telkom-1 to be launched together with co-passenger satellite Asiastar in the first or second week of July.
Berterottiere said Telkom-1 had been "slightly delayed" and Asiastar had been "significantly delayed".
In April 1997, Arianespace signed a deal with Telkom to launch the Telkom-1 satellite using an Ariane 504 rocket from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Telkom-1 will be the third Indonesian satellite launched by Arianespace, after Palapa C2, launched in 1996 and Indostar in 1997.
The satellite is set to carry on services provided by Palapa- B2R, which is due to end its service life in mid-2001.
The satellite, weighing 2,632 kilogram at liftoff, and carrying 24 C Band transpondents and 12 Extended C Band transpondents, will operate for up to 17 years at its orbital location of 108.0 degrees east.
Telkom said the new satellite was expected to be ready for commercial operation in September 1999, and would cover countries in the southeast Asian region, as well as northern Australia.
Telkom-1 will provide various telecommunications services, including multimedia and high speed Internet via satellite, a satellite telephony network and news gathering, analog or digital broadcasts and backbone transmission.
Worth US$191.4 in total, the satellite project comprises a $84.6 million satellite contract with Lockheed Martin, a $90.1 million launch contract with Arianespace, a $15 million insurance package with local firm Jasindo and $1.6 million in consultancy services with Canadian firm Telesat. (cst)