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Telkom upbeat to launch new satellite on schedule
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The Telkom 3S satellite will be launched on Tuesday evening from the spaceport in French Guiana. (JP/Winny Tang)
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tate-owned telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) is optimistic that its Telkom 3S satellite will be launched on schedule from Guiana space center in Kourou, French Guiana, on Tuesday evening, local time.
Telkom president director Alex J. Sinaga said that the satellite launcher Arianespace had reported that it had completed all crucial procedures prior to launching. Thus, the satellite is ready to be launched between 6:39 p.m. and 8:05 p.m., Kourou time, or between 4:39 a.m. and 6:05 a.m. on Wednesday, Jakarta time.
“We are thankful that until 10.25 a.m. [on Tuesday] the information [from Arianespace] concludes that the satellite will be launched on schedule. We hope everything goes well,” Alex told reporters after a briefing at the space center's Jupiter control room.
(Read also: Indonesia launches Telkom 3S satellite successfully)
Telkom hopes that the Telkom 3S satellite will help the company to increase its capacity to be able to serve customers better, primarily in Indonesia’s remote areas.
“With Telkom 3S, Telkom will have a total of three satellites. This is intended for increasing the coverage since Telkom 1 and 2 has the same coverage with Telkom 3S. The reason is because our capacity is not enough; we still rent [transponders] from other countries,” Alex said.
After it is launched, the satellite will need 10 days until it reaches 135.5 degrees orbital position for testing purposes. After that, the satellite will be moved one degree a day to reach its fixed orbital position at 118 degrees east. (hwa)
