07-21-2008, 06:46 PM
ST-1 carries sixteen high-power Ku-band transponders and fourteen medium-power C-band transponders. Weighing over 3,000 kg (6,600 lb.) at launch, ST-1 generates more than 6,500 Watts of electrical power. The satellite's broad C-band coverage beam extends from the Middle East to Japan, including all of Southeast Asia.
ST-1 also features two Ku-band spot beams: a "K1" beam that stretches from Taiwan to Singapore and from Indonesia to Malaysia and a "K2" beam centred over the Indian subcontinent. The ST-1 satellite currently delivers telephony, digital DTH broadcasting, VSAT and other business services throughout the region.
Just weeks before ST-1's launch, the PRC deployed a new Chinasat communications satellite to 87.5 degrees East Longitude—-just 0.5 degrees away from the orbital position that ST-1 was set to occupy. The close proximity between the two spacecraft raised serious questions concerning the potential for interference between the two satellites. As the sole owner of the satellite's orbital location and frequency assignments, SingTel is responsible for the operation of the satellite under international regulations. In the end, all potential interference problems between ST-1 and Chinasat were resolved through frequency coordination efforts involving the telecommunication authorities of Singapore and the PRC.
The original business plan of the ST-1 operators dedicated eight Ku-band transponders to the satellite's high-powered K1 beam, which is limited to covering the Indian subcontinent and the nearby island of Sri Lanka. Their goal was to garner a major share of the potentially lucrative digital DTH market for India that many analysts in the region were anticipating. The Indian government, however, subsequently implemented a ban on the introduction of new Ku-band digital DTH services that brought these plans to a screeching halt. Undeterred by the ban, however, SingTel and Chunghwa Telecom eventually were able to book all Ku-band capacity on board the spacecraft.
ST-1 also features two Ku-band spot beams: a "K1" beam that stretches from Taiwan to Singapore and from Indonesia to Malaysia and a "K2" beam centred over the Indian subcontinent. The ST-1 satellite currently delivers telephony, digital DTH broadcasting, VSAT and other business services throughout the region.
Just weeks before ST-1's launch, the PRC deployed a new Chinasat communications satellite to 87.5 degrees East Longitude—-just 0.5 degrees away from the orbital position that ST-1 was set to occupy. The close proximity between the two spacecraft raised serious questions concerning the potential for interference between the two satellites. As the sole owner of the satellite's orbital location and frequency assignments, SingTel is responsible for the operation of the satellite under international regulations. In the end, all potential interference problems between ST-1 and Chinasat were resolved through frequency coordination efforts involving the telecommunication authorities of Singapore and the PRC.
The original business plan of the ST-1 operators dedicated eight Ku-band transponders to the satellite's high-powered K1 beam, which is limited to covering the Indian subcontinent and the nearby island of Sri Lanka. Their goal was to garner a major share of the potentially lucrative digital DTH market for India that many analysts in the region were anticipating. The Indian government, however, subsequently implemented a ban on the introduction of new Ku-band digital DTH services that brought these plans to a screeching halt. Undeterred by the ban, however, SingTel and Chunghwa Telecom eventually were able to book all Ku-band capacity on board the spacecraft.