MEASAT-3A SATELLITE SUCCESFULLY LAUNCHED FROM BAIKONUR COSMODROME

From Mikhail Raj Abdullah

BAIKONUR (Kazakhstan), June 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's newest satellite, the
MEASAT-3a satellite blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome exactly on schedule
at 5.50 am Malaysian time here Monday.

Launched amid perfectly cool and windy conditions, the US$165 million
communications satellite blasted off on its mission to enhance Measat Satellite
Systems Sdn Bhd's satellite capacity significantly.

The company now has four satellites in orbit.

The time difference between Kazakhstan and Malaysia is two hours which means
it was launched in Baikonur at 3.50 am.

MEASAT-3a was supposed to have been launched in August last year, but an
overhead crane accident damaged it while it was being prepared for launch and
had to be returned to Dulles in Washington for repair.

Information Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim, who
led a group of 50 people to witness the launch of Measat's fourth satellite, was
elated saying it was yet another feather in the cap for Malaysia's broadcasting
capabilities.

Some in the enthralled crowd taken in by the spectacular rocket power and
explosive burn described it as a "rocket entering the heavens."

They all burst into spontaneous applause.

Rais said this was the first time he witnessed the satellite launch.

To be operational in July, MEASAT-3a will replace MEASAT-1 which is
scheduled to complete its service in 2015.

The MEASAT-3a satellite is being lifted into orbit by a Zenit-3SLB Launch
vehicle on its way until its final location at 91.5 degrees East Longitude.

The minister said he was proud over the successful launch of the
satellite as it would help enhance Malaysia's position in the international
satellite business as well as broadcasting.

It will also lay the groundwork for Malaysians themselves to design, create
and manufacture their own satellite in the future and not depend on others or
merely confine themselves to making components, he said.

He also described the successful launch as a "shot in the arm" for
Malaysia's creative industry.

The launching of the 2,417 kg MEASAT-3a satellite here and witnessed a group
of Malaysians in the deserts of Kazakhstan a few kilometres away from the launch
pad was telecast live over Awani, on Astro channel 501.

Among those witnessing the launch were Measat's Chief Operating Officer,
Paul
Brown-Kenyon, Measat's General Counsel Farah Suhanah Ahmad Sarji and Telekom
Malaysia Bhd (TM) group chief executive officer Zam Zamzairani Mohd Isa.

MEASAT-3a, manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corp of Dulles, U.S was a
historical occassion for 14 top students from Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the
Philippines and the United Kingdom.

They were picked by Measat to experience this once-in-a-lifetime chance to
witness the satellite launch especially after being disappointed last year when
the accident delayed the launch.

Among the students were five Malaysians who excelled in the PMR in 2007.

It was dream come true for Ahmad Ruiz Mohd Asri from Taman Tun Dr Ismail in
Kuala Lumpur; Edmund Chen Min Lau from Kuching, Sarawak; Lina Na'ilah Abdul
Talip from Kajang; Chandra Sekhar Kuppusamy from Johor Baharu, and Cliff Asher
R. Ongil from Beaufort, Sabah.
-- BERNAMA