Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems-Built TELKOM Satellite Launched Successfully From Kourou - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, August 23, 1999

The TELKOM-1 satellite that will serve telecommunications applications in Indonesia was launched successfully yesterday at 3:52 p.m. PDT from the Arianespace launch facilities at Kourou, French Guiana on the Ariane 42P booster.

"We would like to thank the entire TELKOM-1 team that made this launch a reality. We appreciate our partnership with P.T. Telkomunikasi and it has been our pleasure to work with their employees on the program at our satellite production facilities," said Peter Kujawski, president of Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, based in Sunnyvale, CA. "Given the geography of Indonesia, satellite-based services provide the best solution to meet the nation's growing communication needs."

Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems built the satellite for P.T. Telkomunikasi (TELKOM) of Indonesia to link the nation's thousands of different islands and archipelagos. The TELKOM-1 satellite will replace the existing Palapa B2R satellite which will be retired later this year. TELKOM selected the A2100 to meet the growing requirements for telecommunications services. The company projects the annual increase in Indonesia's demand for services will be approximately 1.5 million telephone line units per year.

TELKOM-1 will support a variety of telecommunication applications, including high-speed digital traffic compatible with Very Small Aperture Terminal applications, which allows very small satellite dishes to receive signals, eliminating the need for expensive, fixed-site satellite dishes. The satellite's payload was built at the Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems facilities in Newtown, PA., and is configured with 24 C-Band and 12 extended C-Band transponders.

The A2100 will provide TELKOM greater capacity than its earlier satellites, as well as a longer design and maneuver life. The selection of Lockheed Martin to manufacture the TELKOM-1 satellite was based on the company's reputation as a premier satellite producer and recognition of the benefits of the next-generation technology of the A2100.

TELKOM-1 will be positioned at 108 degrees East longitude, providing coverage to all of Indonesia, and potentially to parts of Southeast Asia and northern Australia. The satellite is optimized to provide a 15-year life span, but may continue to provide service for several years beyond that.

In addition to the A2100 satellite, Lockheed Martin provides TELKOM with launch support services, mission operation services, additional equipment to augment the existing ground station in Cibinong, Indonesia, and training of the TELKOM-1 technical team.

Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems markets, designs and builds geostationary and non-geostationary communications and remote sensing satellites for customers worldwide. In addition, Commercial Space Systems offers turnkey space-based systems including the spacecraft, ground systems, launch operations and on-orbit support.

Commercial Space Systems is part of Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, an operating company of Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Space and Strategic Missiles Sector. Missiles & Space is a leading supplier of satellites to military, civil government and commercial customers globally. These spacecraft have enhanced military and civilian communications; provided critical weather information for civil and military planners; and enabled space-based surveillance for a variety of applications. More than 800 Lockheed Martin spacecraft have been launched since 1958.