AsiaSat 5 was launched August 12th on an ILS Proton launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, described as a new generation communications' satellite of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat). The next news report, nine hours and 15 minutes after liftoff announced that AsiaSat 5 successfully separated from the launch vehicle. AsiaSat in Hong Kong acquired the first signals from the satellite.
Photo courtesy of Loral
Over the next few days, the satellite will arrive at the geostationary orbit, some 36,000 km above the Equator. Based on a Space Systems/Loral's 1300 satellite bus, AsiaSat 5 is designed to replace AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East, and to provide advanced satellite services including television broadcast, telephone networks and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia services across Asia Pacific.
“We are extremely pleased that AsiaSat 5 has successfully completed this stage of the launch. We gratefully thank our partners, International Launch Services, Khrunichev and Space Systems/Loral for their diligence, dedication and professionalism that contribute to this launch success,” said Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat.
“We look forward to serving our AsiaSat 2 users with enhanced power and coverage on AsiaSat 5. In addition, with the added capacity and new coverage beams onboard AsiaSat 5, we shall further expand our services into new areas and offer more comprehensive backup services across AsiaSat fleet.”
"The success of AsiaSat 5 is the result of many hours of dedication and hard work by both the AsiaSat and SS/L teams," said John Celli, President and Chief Operating Officer of Space Systems/Loral. "The satellite will contribute to AsiaSat's continuous success, and help this premier satellite operator to strengthen and expand its services throughout the Asia-Pacific region."
When on orbit testing is completed, AsiaSat 5 will replace AsiaSat 2 at 100.5 degrees East longitude, where it will provide video distribution, broadband networking and other important communications services. Its global C-band beam will cover 53 countries spanning from Russia to New Zealand and from Japan to the Middle East and parts of Africa. The satellite also has two high-power fixed Ku-band beams over East Asia and South Asia, and a steerable Ku beam to address changing market demand in the region.
AsiaSat 5 is based on SS/L's 1300 space-proven platform, which provides the flexibility to support a broad range of applications and technology advances. With the launch of AsiaSat 5, there are 57 Space Systems/Loral satellites currently on orbit.
AsiaSat 5 and Loral's Amicable Separation Is a Breeze
Ukraine Is EO Aggressive
Ukraine will launch an Earth remote-sensing satellite in April 2010, the country's top space official said on Thursday.
The spacecraft is designed for optical monitoring of the Earth's surface with a resolution of 6-7 meters. "It could be used for monitoring of territories: fires, harvests, etc.," the UNIAN news agency quoted Oleksandr Zinchenko, the director general of the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU), as saying. According to Zinchenko, the satellite will carry a payload of 158 kg, and it is expected to be launched using the Dnepr launch vehicle, a converted SS-18 ballistic missile. The former Soviet republic has been conducting space activities since 1993, and became a space power (country able to launch own satellite by own carrier rocket) in August 31st, 1995, with the launch of the Sich-1 Earth remote-sensing satellite on a Tsyklon delivery vehicle. Ukraine launched a modernized version of the satellite, the Sich-1M, in 2004. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Wednesday the country was planning to launch its first communications satellite, the Lybid, in 2011.
Indonesian Government Steps In and Steps Up Pay TV Regulation (SatBroadcasting)
CASBAA has applauded the launch of an Indonesian government campaign to regularize the country’s cable-TV industry. Speaking at an August 10 “National Seminar on Pay-TV Broadcasting” that launched the campaign, Bambang Subijantoro, Director of Broadcasting in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Depkominfo) noted that Indonesia has a dynamic and rapidly growing pay-TV industry, but that provincial cable companies were largely operating in the “informal” sector, without proper licenses. The government’s new campaign, Mr. Bambang said, was aimed at correcting that situation, and instilling respect for national laws — including intellectual property law — into the industry. Dr. Andi N. Sommeng, Indonesia’s Director-General of Intellectual Property, noted that re-distributing channels without authorization from the rights holder was illegal, punishable by fines and potentially prison terms.
CASBAA is part of a coalition of government agencies and industry players participating in the just-launched campaign. Local lead organisers include, alongside the Depkominfo, the Indonesian industry association APMI (Asosiasi Penyelenggara Multimedia Indonesia) and the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI). During the seminar, CASBAA’s views were presented by leading Jakarta IP expert (and founder of the Indonesian Intellectual Property Association) Gunawan Suryomurcito. Mr. Gunawan told the audience that investment in pay-TV provides Indonesia with the opportunity to develop high quality local content that can drive domestic industry growth, and then in turn be distributed internationally. In his speech to the National Seminar, Mr. Bambang noted that there are estimated to be over 2,700 pay-TV companies in Indonesia, the vast majority of which are small cable companies in provincial areas. Few had the licenses required by law, he said, but with the final judicial reviews of licensing policy completed in 2007, the government was now ready to move forward. The current program is designed to educate the provincial operators about their responsibilities under the law, and about the need to avoid illegal re-distribution of content. Next, the campaign moves into an “outreach” phase, with seminars and discussions planned in 7 major provincial centres between now and the end of the year. Following that, Depkominfo is gearing up to put its licensing process into high gear, and after a “grace period” lasting a few months, cable operators will be required to have the requisite licenses, and follow Indonesian IP law on content distribution, or suffer legal penalties.
