Measat-Malaysia has announced that its next satellite is expected to be launched in the third quarter of this year. It also said that the satellite, previously known as Measat-1R, will be renamed Measat-3a as it is being designed to be co-located with the Measat-3 satellite at the 91.5°E orbital slot.
The new satellite will have 12 high-powered C-band transponders providing coverage across Africa and Eastern Europe in the West, and Japan through to Australia in the East. It will also have 12 high-powered Ku-Band transponders for Direct-To-Home (DTH) customers in Malaysia and Indonesia.
“The renaming of Measat-1R to Measat-3a better reflects the satellite’s mission to provide expansion capacity, and in-orbit redundancy, for customers utilising the Measat-3 satellite,” said Paul Brown-Kenyon, Chief Operating Officer, Measat. “With key capacity on the Measat-3 satellite already fully utilised, and a strong pipeline of customers awaiting capacity on Measat-3a, we are very pleased to have a confirmed launch slot for the new satellite earlier than originally expected.”
(Source: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union)
