Shin Satellite Plc. of Thailand has awarded a contract to Space
Systems/Loral (SS/L) for the design and construction of iPSTAR-1, a high-powered geostationary satellite to be used for broadband communications applications. The contract includes training and support services, as well as an option for a second satellite.
 
Shin Sat will use iPSTAR-1, a spacecraft with a hybrid Ka-/Ku-band communications payload, to provide direct-to-desktop, last-mile services, including new multi-media and data services to customers in Asia, India, and Australia. The iPSTAR-1 satellite is scheduled to begin service in early 2003.
 
Shin Sat is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shin Corporations Plc., Thailand’s largest telecommunications company. Shin Sat currently operates three satellites, Thaicom 1A, Thaicom 2, and Thaicom 3, which provide a range of telecommunications services to customers in Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and most of Europe, managed through the company’s control center near Bangkok.
 
"In the past, SS/L has been a key contractor for a variety of Asian satellite projects, and we are very pleased to be continuing our work in this fast-growing part of the world," said Dr. John M. Klineberg, president of Space Systems/Loral.
 
The Satellite
 
With total satellite power of approximately 14 kW, iPSTAR-1 will provide 100 beams in the Ku-band and the Ka-band — to deliver broad coverage from its orbital location at 1200 East longitude. iPSTAR-1 is designed to provide 12 years of uninterrupted service life.
 
iPSTAR-1 will be a 1300S, a variation of SS/L’s successful 1300 satellite product line that supports power requirements between 6 and 18 kW. The 1300S satellite bus uses advanced technologies to enable satellite operators to support their customers with a wider range of services, and to deliver them with greater reliability.
 
The 1300S features larger and more efficient power-generating solar arrays with improved subsystems for managing and storing power; a more efficient means of heat dissipation; proven, fuel-efficient ion propulsion thrusters for station-keeping; and advanced command and control systems, all combining to provide a long useful life on orbit, as well as the exceptional reliability for which SS/L satellites are known. In addition, the bus has an expanded component mounting area.
 
Overall, SS/L satellites have accumulated nearly 800 years of reliable on-orbit service.
 
The Companies
 
Shin Satellite Plc, a turnkey satellite operator, provides a C-band and Ku-band transponder leasing, teleport and other value-added and engineering services to users in Asia, Africa, Europe and Australasia. Shin Satellite owns and operates Thaicom 1A, 2, and 3. Thaicom 1A is located at 120*E, and Thaicom 2 and 3 are both located at 78.5*E with a total capacity of 49 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders offering over 70 channels. Thaicom is a hotbird for Indochina and India, an emerging platform of choice for transcontinental Sat TV broadcasts from Europe to Australia. The company has spent almost five years researching and developing new technology to make Internet via satellite more efficient, thus reducing costs and improving the service to end-users.
 
Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, is a premier designer, manufacturer, and integrator of powerful satellites and satellite systems. SS/L also provides a range of related services, including mission control operations and procurement of launch services. Based in Palo Alto, California, the company has an international base of commercial and governmental customers whose applications include broadband digital communications, wireless telephony, direct-to-home broadcast, environmental monitoring, and air traffic control. SS/L is ISO 9001 certified. For more information, visit www.ssloral.com
 
Loral Space & Communications (NYSE: LOR) is a high technology company that concentrates primarily on satellite manufacturing and satellite-based services, including broadcast transponder leasing and value-added services, domestic and international corporate data networks, global wireless telephony, broadband data transmission and content services, Internet services, and international direct-to-home satellite services.