Jacques Rossignol an executive vice president with Arianespace said, "the selection of Ariane by Indonesia further strengthens our position in the Asia-Pacific region, where we have already signed 36 launch contracts."

Flight 118 used an Ariane 42P launcher, fitted with two solid-propellant strap-on boosters. It used the 87th out of 116 Ariane 4 launchers ordered to date from the European space industry, and marked the 45th successful launch in a row for Ariane 4, which holds the world record in reliability for a commercial launch vehicle.

Provisional parameters at third stage injection were:

• Perigee: 199.8 km for a target of 199.8 km (+/- 3 km)
• Apogee: 35,914 km for a target of 35,955 km (+/- 150 km)
• Inclination: 7.005 degrees for a target of 7.006 degrees (+/- 0.06 degrees)

Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems built the satellite for P.T. Telkomunikasi (TELKOM) of Indonesia to link the nation's thousands of different islands and archipelagos. The TELKOM-1 satellite will replace the existing Palapa B2R satellite which will be retired later this year.

TELKOM selected the A2100 to meet the growing requirements for telecommunications services. The company projects the annual increase in Indonesia's demand for services will be approximately 1.5 million telephone line units per year.

TELKOM-1 will support a variety of telecommunication applications, including high-speed digital traffic compatible with Very Small Aperture Terminal applications, which allows very small satellite dishes to receive signals, eliminating the need for expensive, fixed-site satellite dishes.

The satellite's payload was built at the Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems facilities in Newtown, PA., and is configured with 24 C-Band and 12 extended C-Band transponders.

The A2100 will provide TELKOM greater capacity than its earlier satellites, as well as a longer design and maneuver life. TELKOM-1 will be positioned at 108 degrees East longitude, providing coverage to all of Indonesia, and potentially to parts of Southeast Asia and northern Australia.

The satellite is rated with a 15-year life span. But depending on station keeping needs the satellite may be able to provide service for several years beyond that.

In addition to the A2100 satellite, Lockheed Martin provides TELKOM with launch support services, mission operation services, additional equipment to augment the existing ground station in Cibinong, Indonesia, and training of the TELKOM-1 technical team.

The next launch, Arianespace Flight 120 is scheduled for September 1st, 1999. An Ariane 42P will place into orbit the Koreasat 3 communications satellite for Korea Telecom. (Flight 119 is an Ariane 5, Flight 504, set for the end of this year)

Launcher - SpaceDaily Special Report

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Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.