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PALAPA B Series
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| The inspiration
to name the Indonesian Satellite system PALAPA came from the Amukti Palapa
Oath, sworn by Gajah Mada, The Prime minister of the 14th Century Majapahit
Kingdom, who said : "When I have succeeded in the integrating the archipelago,
I shall rest.". The launch of Indonesia's first satellite Palapa-A1
was July 9, 1976 from Cape Canaveral. Indonesia was the fourth country
in the world to launch its own communications satellite. Not a mean feat
for a supposedly "Third World" country. |
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| Palapa-A1 allowed, Indonesia's only
television station, the government owned Television |
| republik Indonesia TVRI to be beamed
right |
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| across the archipelago, using satellite
receivers and VHF repeater stations for local reception. Many poor village's
only had public Tv which was often mounted in an open area so in the evenings
the villagers could watch. |
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Palapa
B-1
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| Palapa-B1 was launched in June 1983
on board the space shuttle. Palapa-B2 also was launched aboard a shuttle,
in February 1984, but it was placed in an improper orbit when the perigee
kick motor, provided by an outside vendor, failed. In November 1984, a
space shuttle crew recovered Palapa-B2 and returned it to Earth for the
insurance underwriters. Boeing refurbished the satellite, which eventually
was sold back to |
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| Indonesia. Renamed Palapa-B2R, the
satellite was successfully relaunched in April 1990 aboard a Delta II rocket. |
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Palapa Control Indonesia
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| Since 1976, eight satellites of Palapa
series have been launched and and the later generation provided services
that extend far and beyond Indonesia's boundaries. PT. SATELINDO as the
owner and operator of Palapa-C, has played important role in developing
the third generation of Palapa satellites. |
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Launch
Chronology
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| Palapa-A1, July 9, 1976 from
Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA |
| Palapa-A2, March 10, 1977
from Cape Canaveral, design life of the first Palapa-A series was 7 years. |
| Palapa-B1, June 18, 1983 from
Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, replacing the Palapa-A1 satellite. |
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| Palapa-B2P, March 21, 1987,
the replacement of the Palapa B2 which failed to reach orbit. |
| Palapa-B2, April 14, 1990,
the replacement of the Palapa-B1. |
| Palapa-B4, May 14, 1992, from
Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA |
| Palapa-C1, January 31, 1996,
from Cape Canaveral, using a Atlas launch rocket. |
| Palapa-C2, May 15, 1996, from
Kourou French Guyana, using a Arianne IV, replacing Palapa B2P at 113 degree
East. |
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Palapa
B4-Telkom 2
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| In 2002 Telkom Indonesia placed a
contract with Arianespace to launch Telkom 2, from Guyana, South America,
in early 2005. Telkom 2 will replace Palapa B4. |
| The Palapa B series were originally
manufactured by Huges Systems Model HS376 later taken over by Boeing and
becoming the B376. The satellite rotates at 7 RPM, while the dish remains
in a stable position to the earth. |
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