KOUROU, FRENCH, June 23 – MEASAT Global Berhad (“MEASAT”) – Malaysia’s premier satellite operator, has successfully launched the MEASAT-3d satellite today, 22 June 2022 at 6.03pm (French Guiana Time) from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, equivalent to 5.03am on 23 June 2022 in Malaysia. The launch was witnessed by Prime Minister YAB Ismail Sabri, Senior Malaysian Government Officials, Private Sector Senior Executives and MEASAT Business Partners. With the addition of this cutting-edge satellite, Malaysians will be able to enjoy better connectivity, especially in remote areas.
This improved coverage will help the nation achieve our goal of closing the digital connectivity gap between Malaysians in rural and urban areas, as laid out in the Jalinan Digital Negara (“JENDELA”) plan. With stable high-speed internet access available across the country, all Malaysians will be able to access socioeconomic benefits powered by the internet, including participating in e-Commerce and internet-based learning, leaving no-one behind in the digital age,” commented YBhg. Dato’ Sri Mohammad Mentek, Secretary General, Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia.
The team at MEASAT are delighted at today’s successful launch and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work. On behalf of MEASAT, I would also like to thank the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission for their continuous support. This successful launch would not have been possible without the collaboration of the personnel at the Ministry and agency. We are committed to driving Malaysia’s national communications vision forward.
With MEASAT-3d, we will be better positioned to support the Government’s target to achieve 100% internet access by 2025, by filling the broadband gap in locations without 4G, 5G or fibre coverage,” said Yau Chyong Lim, Chief Operating Officer, MEASAT. MEASAT-3d will also play an important role in supporting our sister companies. The new satellite will strengthen efforts by Maxis to leverage mobile, fibre, WiFi and satellite communications capabilities to offer a better network experience, even for customers in highly remote locations.
In addition, with the restoration of unrivalled in-orbit redundancy via MEASAT-3d, Astro will be able to strengthen its expansion capacity, enabling the next wave of 4K and eventually 8K content to every home in Malaysia,” he added. Over the next few days, the MEASAT-3d satellite will be raised from a geo-transfer orbit into a geostationary orbit at MEASAT’s key 91.5°E video neighbourhood. The satellite will then undergo testing for approximately one (1) month, prior to being brought into commercial operations.
MEASAT-3d will be co-located with MEASAT-3a and MEASAT-3b at the 91.5°E orbital slot to form one of the region’s most powerful and robust orbital locations. In conjunction with the launch in Kourou, MEASAT held a live broadcast viewing session at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur on 23 June 2022. The event was graced by YAB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Prime Minister of Malaysia and YB Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima TPr Annuar Haji Musa, Minister of Communications and Multimedia, and was also attended by other government officials, MEASAT’s business partners and industry stakeholders.
During this event, the CanSat competition organised in collaboration with Apadilangit in conjunction with the launch of MEASAT-3d was showcased, where the Top 3 finalists – Team Petrichor from MITstem International School, Selangor, Team Pengembara Angkasa from SMK Wangsa Maju Seksyen 2, Kuala Lumpur and Team Smeksi-Learn from SMK Seri Iskandar, Perak, presented their entries, followed by the announcement of the winners and the prize presentation. The competition for Form 4 and 5 students aimed to inspire the younger generation to explore the potential of advanced satellites and contribute to the technological and social development of Malaysia.
