Orbital Completes Indonesia’s Telkom-2 Communications Satellite

Indonesia's Telkom-2 C satellite was based on Orbital’s Star-2 platform.

DULLES, Va., Jan. 27/Satnews Daily/ ¾ Orbital Sciences Corp. (NYSE:ORB) announced on Wednesday it has completed the design, manufacturing and testing process for the Telkom-2 C-band satellite that the company is supplying to Indonesia's state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telkomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (PT Telkom).

Telkom-2 satellite is based on Orbital's Star-2 satellite platform, generating approximately three kilowatts of electrical power and carrying 24 C-band transponders. In addition to the satellite platform, Orbital said it also designed, manufactured and tested the communications payload and is furnishing a complete ground station, including hardware and operations software. When Telkom-2 satellite is launched, Orbital engineers will also provide launch and mission support services to ensure a smooth transition to the customer's full operational control of the satellite.

According to Orbital, the company completed the Telkom-2 production and testing process in just 18 months, from the full program start in May 2003, to its pre-launch ground delivery in November 2004. The launch of the satellite is currently in the scheduling process and is expected to take place in the first half of 2005 aboard an Ariane rocket originating from Kourou, French Guiana.

The Telkom-2 satellite will enter a geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) 22,300 miles above the Earth, at 118 degrees East longitude. It will allow PT Telkom to expand its satellite communications coverage area from the Indonesian archipelago into the Southeast Asian region and the Indian subcontinent, said Orbital.

Over the past several years, Orbital said it has established itself as a supplier of small GEO satellites designed to provide direct-to-home TV broadcasting, cable program distribution, business data network capacity, regional mobile communications and similar services. Orbital's GEO communications satellites are based on the company's Star-1 and Star -2 standard spacecraft platforms, which are able to accommodate most types of commercial communications payloads.

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