MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd.) is a

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

operator that owns and operates the MEASAT (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) and AFRICASAT spacecraft. The company provides satellite services to leading Malaysian broadcasters, Direct-To-Home (DTH) platforms, and telecom operators. With capacity across six communication satellites, the company provides satellite services to over 150 countries.

History

In 1993, Malaysia's Prime Minister, Dr.

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...

, called for the end of the Malaysian government's monopoly on communications services. He believed that the creation of privately owned companies could better serve Malaysia's communications needs in the decades ahead. One result of Mahathir's 1993 "Malaysia Plan" was the creation of the Binariang Sdn. Bhd. company by Malaysian tycoon

Ananda Krishnan Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan (1 April 1938 – 28 November 2024), also known by the initialism A. K., was a Malaysian entrepreneur who was a founder and chairperson of Usaha Tegas and founder of Yu Cai Foundation (YCF). At the time of ...

, which was given the charter to develop Malaysia's first satellite communications system. In 1994, Binariang signed a contract with Hughes Space and Communications Company (now Boeing Satellite Systems) for two Model 376 satellites. The project was named the "Malaysia East Asia Satellite" program, or "MEASAT" for short. The satellites opened the door to reliable telephone and data transmission services to all of Malaysia, helping to strengthen the unity between the peninsula and the island portions of the nation. The satellites also contributed greatly to the rapid growth of computer networking in Malaysia, as well as the creation of a new direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service, called "

Astro Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (born Terence Wilson) (1957–2021), rapper and member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie ro ...

". Since the launch of MEASAT-1 and MEASAT-2 in 1996, the company has expanded its fleet to across six (6)

geostationary satellites A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...

designed and built by

Boeing Satellite Systems The Boeing Satellite Development Center is a major business unit of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It brought together Boeing satellite operations with that of GM Hughes Electronics' Space and Communications division in El Segundo, Califo ...

Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...

Loral Space & Communications Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a Delaware-domiciled satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and system ...

, and

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus reven ...

MEASAT-1 (AFRICASAT-1) and MEASAT-2

As advanced Model 376 spacecraft, the MEASAT-1 and -2 satellites have three enhancements over the standard model. They were the first in the 376 series to be fitted with

gallium arsenide Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a III-V direct band gap semiconductor with a Zincblende (crystal structure), zinc blende crystal structure. Gallium arsenide is used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monoli ...

solar cells A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.

, which deliver 40 percent more payload power as compared to their silicon predecessors. They were also the first Model 376s to use lightweight, high-gain shaped antenna. The satellites also used a more efficient

bipropellant The highest specific impulse chemical rockets use liquid propellants (liquid-propellant rockets). They can consist of a single chemical (a monopropellant) or a mix of two chemicals, called bipropellants. Bipropellants can further be divided into ...

system for stationkeeping and attitude control maneuvers. Both MEASAT-1 & 2 satellites were launched on

Ariane Ariane may refer to: *Ariana (name), also Ariane, Arianne Arts * ''Ariane'' (Martinů), an opera by Bohuslav Martinů, first performed 1961 * ''Ariane'' (Massenet), an opera by Jules Massenet, first performed 1906 * ''Ariane'' (film), a 1931 ...

rockets from

Centre Spatial Guyanais The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approxim ...

Kourou Kourou (; ) is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

. MEASAT-1 was launched in January 1996 and MEASAT-2 was launched in November 1996. MEASAT-1 was located in a

geostationary A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...

orbit at 91.5 degrees East, and MEASAT-2 was located in a geostationary orbit at 148 degrees East. The contract with Hughes also called for the installation and testing of equipment for a satellite control station on

Langkawi Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah (), is a duty-free island and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide in the Strait of Malacca) located some 30 km off the coast of northwe ...

Island, and training of Malaysian spacecraft controllers. MEASAT 1 had five high-power

transponders In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

Ku band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally ), because it is the lower part of the original NATO K ban ...

for the direct-to-user service, powered by 112-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers. The regional service to Malaysia was provided on 12 transponders in C band, using 12-watt solid state amplifiers. MEASAT-2 had 11 active transponders in Ku band. Eight of these use 95-watt traveling-wave amplifiers, and three have 62 watts. MEASAT-2 also had six active transponders in C band, powered by 12-watt solid-state amplifiers. In the latter part of 2009, MEASAT-1 was still functioning reliably beyond its planned 12 year life. With help from Boeing Satellite Systems, MEASAT drift relocated MEASAT-1 from its 91.5°E orbital location, across the Indian Ocean to provide service to the African continent from 46°E. In January 2010, MEASAT renamed MEASAT-1 as "AFRICASAT-1". The satellite was de-orbited and sent to a 'graveyard' orbit in April 2013 once it reached its end-of-life.

MEASAT-3

MEASAT-3 is a Boeing 601 HP spacecraft. It was launched on 12 December 2006 from Russia's

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. On 21 June 2021, MEASAT-3 had experienced an unidentified problem. MEASAT said on 6 August 2021 that it has chosen to deorbit the satellite.

MEASAT-3a

MEASAT-3a was constructed by

under their Star-2 platform. It was launched on 21 June 2009 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

MEASAT-3b

MEASAT-3b was constructed by

. It was launched on 12 September 2014 MYT from

MEASAT-3d

MEASAT-3d was constructed by

. It was launched on 23 June 2022 along with a satellite made by NSIL and

Tata Play Tata Play is an Indian subscription-based satellite television (DTH) service provider owned by Tata Group. it was using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A GSAT-10 and GSAT-24 satellites. Incorporated in 2005, ...

GSAT-24 CMS-02 (also known as GSAT-24 and also known as GSAT-N1) is an Indian Communication Satellite built by ISRO. The CMS-02 satellite is funded, owned and operated by New Space India Limited. Cost of spacecraft was around ₹400 crore. The entire ca ...

onboard Ariane 5 ECA+ flight VA257 from

ELA-3 ELA-3 () is a launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The complex was first used in June 1996 in support of the now retired Ariane 5 Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespac ...

References

External links

MEASAT Satellite Systems Official Website

MEASAT Official Facebook Page

IMS
Official provider's site
AfricaSat 1 / MEASAT 1 Channels
at Satepedia {{Orbital launches in 1996 1992 establishments in Malaysia Telecommunications companies established in 1992 Communications satellite operators Science and technology in Malaysia Scientific organisations based in Malaysia Privately held companies of Malaysia First artificial satellites of a country