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Telkom 3S set to launch on Valentine’s Day
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Ariane 5, the heavy launcher. (Courtesy of Arianespace/File)
T
he Telkom 3S communications satellite is set to launch on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, between 6:39 p.m. to 8:05 p.m., local time, from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, South America.
A week before lift-off, a number of top executives from Telkom together with employees of satellite launcher Arianespace conducted rehearsals and a launch readiness review to make sure that the satellite was ready to go.
“They have reviewed all the small details. So if anything [unexpected] happens, it is beyond our control,” Telkom chief technology officer Abdus Somad Arief said on Sunday night in Kourou.
(Read also:Telkom to launch US$199.7m satellite in February)
Telkom said weather conditions were crucial for determining whether to launch the satellite or postpone the event.
“Actually, rain is fine. But problems occur if there is thunder or [cumulonimbus] cloud. Just like an airplane, if the clouds are intolerable, the launch will be postponed,” Telkom’s satellite project head, Tonda Priyanto, said.
Before stationing itself at 118 degrees east, the Telkom 3S satellite will first reach 135.5 degrees east for testing purposes.
Telkom 3S is fitted with 24 C-band transponders, eight extended C-band transponders and 10 Ku-band transponders. (bbn)
