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Palapa

The Palapa satellites form Indonesia's domestic satellite system. Meaning "fruits of labor", Palapa satellites provide regional communications between the country's 6000+ inhabited islands. Originally operated by a government-owned company, Perumtel, the Palapa system is now operated by Satelindo, a private Indonesian company established in 1993. The system began with the launch of Palapa A1 on July 8, 1976, with operational service beginning the following month. Palapa A1 and A2 were phased out of service (A1 - June '85, A2 - January '88) following the introduction of the Palapa B series, which increased coverage to include the Phillipines, Malaysia, and Singapore. Palapa B2, originally launched by STS-41B in February 1984, did not successfully reach orbit, and was subsequently retrieved by STS-51A in November, 1984. Following the failure of B2, Perumtel ordered an identical replacement satellite, B2P, which was launched in March 1987 on an expendable Delta rocket. Following return of B2 to Earth, it was sold by the satellite's insurers to Sattel Technologies, refurbished, relaunched in April 1990, and then resold back to Perumtel, where it was known as Palapa B2R. The newest Palapa series began with launch of Palapa C1 in January 1996, which replaced Palapa B2P (which ended service in February 1996). At least one more C series satellite will be built and launched, with a further option for a third C class vehicle.

Related QuickLook Pages:

Launch Facts
 Name  Int'l Desig.  Date  Site  Vehicle  Orbit  Mass(kg)
    Notes
 Palapa A1  1976-066A  7/8/76  ESMC  Delta 2914  GEO  300
   
 Palapa A2  1977-018A  3/10/77  ESMC  Delta 2914  GEO  574
   
 Palapa B1  1983-059C  6/18/83  ESMC  STS 7  GEO  1200
    Deployed by STS-7 6/18/83
 Palapa B2  1984-011D  2/3/84  ESMC  STS 41B  LEO  1200
    Deployed from STS 41B 2/4/84; failed to reach proper orbit; recovered by STS-51A
 Palapa B2P  1987-029A  3/20/87  ESMC  Delta 3920  GEO  1200
    113 deg W
 Palapa B2R  1990-034A  4/13/90  ESMC  Delta 6925-8  GEO  1200
    Refurbished Palapa B2 retrieved by STS-51A; 107.7 deg E
 Palapa B4  1992-027A  5/14/92  ESMC  Delta 7925-8  GEO  1254
    118 deg E
 Palapa C1  1996-006A  2/1/96  ESMC  Atlas 2AS  GEO  
    30 C-band, 6 Ku-band transponders
 Palapa C2  1996-030A  5/16/96  Kourou  Ariane 44L  GEO  
    34 transponders; 113 deg E

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