Space Systems/Loral To Build Shin Sat’s New iPSTAR-1 Satellite for Asia-Pacific Broadband Communications Services
Shin Satellite Plc. of
Thailand has awarded a contract to Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for the
design and construction of iPSTAR-1, a high-powered geostationary
satellite to be used for broadband communications applications.
The contract includes training and support services, as well as an
option for a second satellite.
Shin Sat will use iPSTAR-1, a spacecraft with a hybrid Ka-/Ku-band
communications payload, to provide direct-to-desktop, last-mile
services, including new multi-media and data services to customers in
Asia, India, and Australia. The iPSTAR-1 satellite is scheduled to
begin service in early 2003.
Shin Sat is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shin Corporations Plc.,
Thailand’s largest telecommunications company. Shin Sat currently
operates three satellites, Thaicom 1A, Thaicom 2, and Thaicom 3, which
provide a range of telecommunications services to customers in Asia,
Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and most of Europe, managed
through the company’s control center near Bangkok.
“In the past, SS/L has been a key contractor for a variety of
Asian satellite projects, and we are very pleased to be continuing our
work in this fast-growing part of the world,” said Dr. John M.
Klineberg, president of Space Systems/Loral.
The Satellite
With total satellite power of approximately 14 kW, iPSTAR-1 will
provide 100 beams in the Ku-band and the Ka-band — to deliver broad
coverage from its orbital location at 120 degrees East longitude.
iPSTAR-1 is designed to provide 12 years of uninterrupted service
life.
iPSTAR-1 will be a 1300S, a variation of SS/L’s successful 1300
satellite product line that supports power requirements between 6 and
18 kW. The 1300S satellite bus uses advanced technologies to enable
satellite operators to support their customers with a wider range of
services, and to deliver them with greater reliability.
The 1300S features larger and more efficient power-generating
solar arrays with improved subsystems for managing and storing power;
a more efficient means of heat dissipation; proven, fuel-efficient ion
propulsion thrusters for station-keeping; and advanced command and
control systems, all combining to provide a long useful life on orbit,
as well as the exceptional reliability for which SS/L satellites are
known. In addition, the bus has an expanded component mounting area.
Overall, SS/L satellites have accumulated nearly 800 years of
reliable on-orbit service.
The Companies
Shin Satellite Plc, a turnkey satellite operator, provides a
C-band and Ku-band transponder leasing, teleport and other value-added
and engineering services to users in Asia, Africa, Europe and
Australasia. Shin Satellite owns and operates Thaicom 1A, 2, and 3.
Thaicom 1A is located at 120 degrees E, and Thaicom 2 and 3 are both
located at 78.5 degrees E with a total capacity of 49 C-band and 20
Ku-band transponders offering over 70 channels. Thaicom is a hotbird
for Indochina and India, an emerging platform of choice for
transcontinental Sat TV broadcasts from Europe to Australia. The
company has spent almost five years researching and developing new
technology to make Internet via satellite more efficient, thus
reducing costs and improving the service to end-users.
Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications,
is a premier designer, manufacturer, and integrator of powerful
satellites and satellite systems. SS/L also provides a range of
related services, including mission control operations and procurement
of launch services. Based in Palo Alto, California, the company has an
international base of commercial and governmental customers whose
applications include broadband digital communications, wireless
telephony, direct-to-home broadcast, environmental monitoring, and air
traffic control. SS/L is ISO 9001 certified. For more information,
visit www.ssloral.com
Loral Space & Communications is a high technology
company that concentrates primarily on satellite manufacturing and
satellite-based services, including broadcast transponder leasing and
value-added services, domestic and international corporate data
networks, global wireless telephony, broadband data transmission and
content services, Internet services, and international direct-to-home
satellite services. For more information, visit www.loral.com.
