MEASAT-3 was a Malaysian communications satellite which was successfully launched on 11 December 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.[1]

MEASAT-3
Artist's impression of MEASAT-3 orbiting over Malaysia
OperatorMEASAT
COSPAR ID2006-056A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.29648
Mission duration15 years
Spacecraft properties
BusBSS-601
ManufacturerBoeing
Launch mass4,765 kilograms (10,505 lb)
BOL mass3,220 kilograms (7,100 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date11 December 2006, 23:28:43 (2006-12-11UTC23:28:43Z) UTC
RocketProton-M/Briz-M
Launch siteBaikonur 200/39
ContractorInternational Launch Services
End of mission
DisposalDecommissioned
DeactivatedSeptember 9th 2021
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeostationary
Longitude91.5° east
Perigee altitude35,787 kilometres (22,237 mi)
Apogee altitude35,796 kilometres (22,243 mi)
Inclination0.05 degrees
Period23.93 hours
Epoch28 October 2013, 21:08:19 UTC
Transponders
Band24 C-band
24 Ku-band

In March 2003, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia ordered a Boeing 601HP satellite, giving it the designation MEASAT-3 at that time. MEASAT-3 joined the existing Boeing-built MEASAT-1 and MEASAT-2 spacecraft in the Malaysia-East Asia Satellite (MEASAT) system.

International Launch Services (ILS) was contracted as the launch provider. Boeing was specified to also provide an upgrade to the MEASAT ground facilities in Malaysia, as well as training and launch support services.

MEASAT-3 was by International Launch Services using a Proton-M rocket with a Briz-M upper stage. The upper stage made five burns to place MEASAT-3 into a geostationary transfer orbit. After circularisation and testing, the satellite entered commercial service on January 25, 2007, in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 91.5 degrees East where it is co-located with MEASAT-1. The C band and Ku band now covers geographically remote areas such as Sabah, Sarawak, and North India and expands the MEASAT fleet's coverage to more than 100 countries embracing Australia, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa.

On 21 June 2021, an anomaly caused the satellite to drift out of its position, causing service disruptions for Astro customers throughout Malaysia.[2] Although MEASAT is still commanding the satellite it is unable to stop MEASAT-3 from continuing to drift, now located at 84.69°E.[3] Because of this, all transponders have been shut down and services migrated to other MEASAT and third party satellites.

Its replacement, the MEASAT-3d, is expected to be launched in 2022.[4]

Transponders

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C BAND TRANSPONDERS
EIRP (dBW) 41 (Global beam), 45 (Asia beam)
G/T (dB/K) +0.5 (Global beam), +2.8 (Asia beam)
TWTA power 65 Watts
Transponder bandwidth 24x36 MHz
Channel polarization Linear
Frequency band Uplink: 5,925-6,725 MHz
Downlink: 3,400-4,200 MHz
Ku BAND TRANSPONDERS
EIRP (dBW) 57 (Maximum)
G/T (dB/K) +14 (Maximum)
TWTA power 120 Watts
Transponder bandwidth 24x36 MHz
Channel polarization Linear
Frequency band Uplink: 13.75-14.5 GHz
Downlink: 10.95-12.75 GHz

References

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  1. ^ "Proton M/Breeze M-MEASAT-3". International Launch Services. Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  2. ^ "Astro Customers Currently Facing Service Disruption Due To Satellite Outage". Lowyat.NET. 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  3. ^ "MEASAT-3 Satellite Updates" (PDF). MEASAT. July 17, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "MEASAT-3 Satellite Drifting In An Uncontrolled Geostationary Orbit, Likely To Be A Total Loss". Lowyat.NET. 2021-07-17. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
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