Mission type | Communication |
---|---|
Operator | Indosat Ooredoo |
COSPAR ID | 2009-046A |
SATCAT no. | 35812 |
Mission duration | 15 years (planned) 10.5 years (expected)[1] 11 years (achieved) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | Spacebus-4000B3 |
Manufacturer | Thales Alenia Space[2] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 31 August 2009, 09:28 | UTC
Rocket | Chang Zheng 3B/E |
Launch site | Xichang LA-2 |
End of mission | |
Deactivated | 31 August 2020 (officially) |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Geostationary |
Longitude | 113° East |
Perigee altitude | 35,783 kilometres (22,235 mi)[3] |
Apogee altitude | 35,803 kilometres (22,247 mi)[3] |
Inclination | 0.03 degrees[3] |
Period | 1436.13 minutes[3] |
Epoch | 23 January 2015, 13:40:35 UTC[3] |
Palapa-D, also known as Palapa D1, was an Indonesian geostationary communications satellite which was operated by Indosat Ooredoo. It was built by Thales Alenia Space, based on the Spacebus-4000B3 satellite bus, and carries 35 G/H band and 5 J band transponders (US IEEE C and Ku bands respectively). It was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 113° East, where it will replace the Palapa C2 satellite.[4]
Indosat ordered Palapa-D from Thales Alenia Space in 2007.[5] The satellite was built without using American components, and was therefore not restricted by US International Traffic in Arms Regulations,[6] which allowed the China Great Wall Industry Corporation to be selected as a launch service provider.[7]
On 31 August 2020, Palapa D was officially declared inadequate for operation after almost ran out of fuel for stationkeeping and all of its transponder services were officially moved to Telkom-4/Merah Putih and BRIsat satellites for broadcasting and data services respectively.
A Long March 3B rocket, flying from Launch Area 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre was used to launch Palapa-D. A problem with the third stage of its carrier rocket left it in an incorrect orbit,[8] which was subsequently corrected using the spacecraft's onboard propulsion system.
After launch, Palapa-D was to have separated from its carrier rocket into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, however one of its two identical upper-stage engines failed to deliver the necessary thrust,[9][10] resulting in it reaching a lower orbit than planned. The 400 newton apogee motor of the satellite was subsequently used in a non-nominal mode[clarification needed] to raise it into geostationary orbit.[citation needed]
On 3 September, the satellite's orbit was adjusted, placing it into a geostationary transfer orbit.[11] It reached geostationary orbit on 9 September.[12] It underwent on-orbit testing, and arrived at its orbital slot of 113° East in mid-September. After completing its testing, it is now being used to provide communications to Asia and Australia.[citation needed]
Palapa-D was built with a design life of fifteen years, but due to the expenditure of fuel during maneuvers to correct its orbit, it is expected to have enough fuel for about ten years of operations, according to Reynald Seznec, President of Thales Alenia Space.[13][14]
Palapa-D was planned to be replaced by Nusantara Dua (Palapa-N1) satellite; the launch of Nusantara Dua on 9 April 2020 by Chinese Long March 3B/E rocket was a failure, resulting in the loss of the satellite. A replacement satellite (Nusantara 2R or Palapa N1R) to be built by the same manufacturer (China Academy of Space Technology) is being considered, albeit with possible different specifications with the lost one.