Malaysia is getting a brand new satellite with the launch of MEASAT-3d this coming Thursday. This is the most advanced satellite yet for the MEASAT fleet and it will improve connectivity for the underserved and unserved population in Malaysia.
New MEASAT satellite launch in 8 years
The MEASAT-3d satellite launch takes place 8 years after the launch of MEASAT-3b in September 2014. The new satellite will join MEASAT-3a and MEASAT-3b at the 91.5°E hotslot which provides redundancy and increased capacity for Astro’s Direct-to-Home (DTH) service, as well as broadcasting and telecommunications services.
MEASAT’s most advanced satellite yet
MEASAT-3d uses Airbus’ Eurostar E3000 geostationary satellite which is equipped with a variety of bands to support current and future requirements. Besides the usual C-band and Ku-Bands for DTH, video distribution and telecommunications services, MEASAT-3d also offers a High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) Ka-band which will enable high-speed satellite broadband of up to 100Mbps which is a significant upgrade from 30Mbps with existing MEASAT satellites. The new satellite also offers more than 30Gbps in capacity for satellite broadband, which is a tenfold increase from the current 3Gbps. The increased capacity will also enable video distribution of 4K and 8K video content in the Asia Pacific region.
To support future needs, MEASAT-3d also carries a Q and V band payload which is described as a first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region. According to MEASAT, this would allow them to study the propagation effects in high rainfall regions to enable the design of its next generation satellites. The satellite also carries an L-band navigation hosted payload for the Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS) for KTSAT.
According to Airbus, MEASAT-3d is their 57th E3000 satellite and it’s also the 137th Airbus Defence and Space satellite to be launched by Arianespace. The satellite is designed to provide more than 18 years of operation with an electrical power of 12kW at end of life.
First Ariane 5 mission in 2022
MEASAT-3d will be launched on Flight VA257 which is Arianespace’s second launch of 2022 and the first Ariane 5 flight of the year. The launch is happening at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana which is the same location where MEASAT 1, MEASAT 2 and MEASAT-3b were launched.
Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle that’s capable of carrying more than 10 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit. This is the same rocket that’s used to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, which is the largest and most powerful space telescope.
MEASAT-3d will launch together with India’s GSAT-24
Besides MEASAT-3d, flight VA257 will also carry India’s GSAT-24 satellite that’s built by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). THe GSAT-24 is a Ku-band satellite that’s designed to provide DTH services for Indian customers and it has a designed lifespan of 15 years.
Based on the schedule, MEASAT-3d will be released at around 28 minutes after liftoff, followed by GSAT-24 which is scheduled to be separated about 11 minutes later.
How to watch MEASAT-3d launch live?
Ariane flight VA257 is scheduled for a launch window from 21:03 to 22:43 UTC on 22nd June. That’s between 5:03am to 6:43am Malaysian time on 23rd June. The event will be streamed live via Astro Awani.
You can also watch the launch live via Arianespace YouTube channel:
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