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:

• Palapa A1, A2
• Palapa B1,B2,B2P,B2R,B4

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