Ariane 5 launches two communication satellites for Asia-Pacific Region
MEASAT 3d and GSAT-24 manifest the First Ariane 5 launch of 2022 is a success, supporting MEASAT (Malaysia) and NSIL (India)
On Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at 06:50 pm local time (21:50 UTC), An Ariane 5 ECA 'plus' rocket No. L5116 (Ariane Flight VA257) launched the MEASAT-3d and GSAT-24 satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), a total payload of approximately 10,863 kg, from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
The rocket took off after a 'hold' (temporary suspension) of about 30 minutes in the countdown. MEASAT-3d is a multi-mission telecommunications satellite built by Airbus Defense and Space for MEASAT Malaysia. GSAT-24 is a 4,000 kg class communications satellite with Ku-band transmitters built for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
This is the second launch carried out by Arianespace since the beginning of 2022. “The objective of the mission is to launch satellites with a total mass of more than 10 tons into geostationary orbit,” the company said. In fact, the launcher carried a total payload of approximately 10,863 kg.
“With this Ariane 5 mission, Arianespace is honored to support the ambitions of two key actors in the Asia-Pacific region: MEASAT, the leading Malaysian satellite operator and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India company within the Department of Space (DOS) acting in concert with the Indian Space Agency ISRO. With the orbiting of both MEASAT-3d, the fourth satellite that we’ve launched for the benefit of Malaysia, and GSAT-24, the 25th Indian satellite we’ve delivered for them, we are affirming our long term partnership with these two great actors,” declared Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace
“Today’s successful mission of GSAT-24 is a major step forward for NSIL in commercially meeting the DTH communication needs of the country using indigenously built satellite solutions from ISRO,” Dr S Somanath, Secretary DOS said.
GSAT-24 is configured on ISRO's proven I-3k Bus with a mission life of 15 years. "'Demand-driven' mode basically means when the satellite is launched, one will know who the end customers are going to be and what's the kind of utilization and commitment so that you have very effective utilization of this satellite capacity once it goes into orbit", an NSIL official explained. "Earlier, the mode was more supply-driven, with capacity being leased after the launch with largely no firm commitment by customers beforehand", the official noted.
"The entire mission is fully funded by NSIL -- satellite, launch, launch campaign, insurance, transportation, in-orbit maintenance, and support. Once the satellite is up in orbit, this will be fully owned and operated by NSIL, Radhakrishnan Durairaj, NSIL Chairman and Managing Director said in a post-launch interview.
GSAT-24 is a 24 Ku band communication satellite meant for meeting the DirectTo-Home (DTH) communication needs of the country. Satellite weighed 4180 kg
at lift-off, and has a mission life of 15 years. NSIL has leased the entire satellite
capacity to M/s Tata Play for a period of 15 years. The entire funding for the
GSAT-24 mission has been borne by NSIL.
After nearly 40 minutes of flight, GSAT-24 satellite was successfully injected into
its intended Geo-Synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with Perigee: 250 km and
Apogee: 35825 km.
Post-separation of GSAT-24 satellite, ISRO's Master Control Facility at Hassan,
Karnataka took control of the satellite and initial data received indicates good
health of the satellite. In the coming days, the orbit of GSAT-24 satellite will
be raised from GTO to Geo-Stationary Orbit (GSO), through a series of orbit
raising maneuvers using satellite’s on-board propulsion system.
With the successful launch of GSAT-24, NSIL will be owning and operating nearly 11 Communication Satellites in orbit and would meet the bulk of the communication needs of the country. GSAT-24 is the first of the many Demand Driven Missions, that NSIL would undertake in the coming years.
Congratulations to MEASAT on the successful launch of MEASAT-3d. With the addition of this cutting-edge satellite, Malaysians will be able to enjoy better connectivity, especially in remote areas. This improved coverage will help the nation achieve our goal of closing the
digital connectivity gap between Malaysians in rural and urban areas, as laid out in the Jalinan Digital Negara (“JENDELA”) plan. With stable high-speed internet access available across the country, all Malaysians will be able to access socioeconomic benefits powered by the internet, including participating in e-Commerce and internet-based learning, leaving no-one behind in the digital age,”—commented YBhg. Dato' Sri Mohammad Mentek, Secretary-General, Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia.
“The team at MEASAT are delighted at today’s successful launch and I would like to thank
everyone for their hard work. On behalf of MEASAT, I would also like to thank the Ministry
of Communications and Multimedia and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission for their continuous support. This successful launch would not have been
possible without the collaboration of the personnel at the Ministry and agency. We are
committed to driving Malaysia’s national communications vision forward. With MEASAT-3d,
we will be better positioned to support the Government’s target to achieve 100% internet
access by 2025, by filling the broadband gap in locations without 4G, 5G or fiber coverage,”
said Yau Chyong Lim, Chief Operating Officer, MEASAT.
“MEASAT-3d will also play an important role in supporting our sister companies. The new satellite will strengthen efforts by Maxis to leverage mobile, fiber, WiFi and satellite
communications capabilities to offer a better network experience, even for customers in
highly remote locations. In addition, with the restoration of unrivaled in-orbit redundancy
via MEASAT-3d, Astro will be able to strengthen its expansion capacity, enabling the next
wave of 4K and eventually 8K content to every home in Malaysia,” he added.
Over the next few days, the MEASAT-3d satellite will be raised from a geo-transfer orbit
into a geostationary orbit at MEASAT’s key 91.5°E video neighborhood. The satellite will
then undergo testing for approximately one month, prior to being brought into
commercial operations. MEASAT-3d will be co-located with MEASAT-3a and MEASAT-3b
at the 91.5°E orbital slot to form one of the region’s most powerful and robust orbital
locations.