Lockheed Martin-Built
Vinasat-1 Satellite Launched Successfully For Vietnam Posts And
Telecommunications Group
(18 April 2008) The Vinasat-1
communications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin for Vietnam
Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) of Vietnam, was successfully launched
today from Kourou, French Guiana.
Lift-off occurred at 6:17 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) aboard an Ariane 5-ECA launch vehicle provided by
Arianespace of Evry, France. Initial contact with the satellite was confirmed
at 7:30 p.m. EDT from Lockheed Martin's satellite tracking station in Uralla,
Australia..
Vinasat-1 is based on Lockheed Martin's A2100A spacecraft
platform and features 12 operating Ku Band transponders providing coverage over
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and part of Myanmar. The spacecraft also
features 8 C-Band primary transponders providing coverage over Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos, Southeast Asia, India, Japan and Australia. It is designed for
a minimum service life of 15 years and will be located at orbital slot 132
degrees east.
"Lockheed Martin is extremely pleased to deliver the first
satellite system procured by the nation of Vietnam," said Vice President &
General Manager Marshall Byrd. "From the beginning of the Vinasat-1 program in
May 2006, Lockheed Martin and VNPT have worked together in a successful
collaborative relationship to ensure on-time delivery of the satellite.
Lockheed Martin values VNPT as an important business partner and is proud of
the trust that VNPT has placed in Lockheed Martin."
The turnkey
satellite system is expected to improve telecommunications in Vietnam by
transmitting radio, television and telephone communications to all corners of
the country. The spacecraft will enable state-of-the-art communications,
providing the Vietnamese people the opportunity to use multiple new services
such as mobile broadcasting, direct- to-home television, video conferencing and
data transmission. Vinasat-1 will also improve the nation's communication
networks infrastructure by removing dependence on ground networks and allowing
100% of Vietnam's rural communities to be equipped with telephones and
televisions.
"The launch of Vinasat-1 is very timely for us," said VNPT
Vice President Bui Thien Minh. "The Vietnamese economy is well on its way to
becoming fully integrated with the world economy, and VNPT requires a completed
telecommunications network to increase our market growth. Customers want to be
offered all options for their communication needs."
In addition to VNPT,
Lockheed Martin has delivered 18 spacecraft to Asian customers, including eight
A2100 satellites. The Lockheed Martin A2100 geosynchronous spacecraft series is
designed to meet a wide variety of telecommunications needs including Ka-band
broadband and broadcast services, fixed satellite services in C-band and
Ku-band, high-power direct broadcast services using the Ku-band frequency
spectrum and mobile satellite services using UHF, L-band, and S-band payloads.
The A2100's modular design features a reduction in parts, simplified
construction, increased on-orbit reliability and reduced weight and
cost.
The A2100 spacecraft's design accommodates a large range of
communication payloads. This design modularity also enables the A2100
spacecraft to be configured for missions other than communication. The A2100
design is currently being adapted for geostationary earth orbit (GEO)-based
earth observing missions and is currently the baselined platform for Lockheed
Martin's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Series-R (GOES-R)
proposal. The A2100 also serves as the platform for critical government
communications programs including Advanced Extremely High Frequency and Mobile
User Objective System and is the foundation for Lockheed Martin's
Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT) offering for the U.S.
Government.
About VNPT Group
The Vietnam Posts and
Telecommunications Group (VNPT) is a leading economic group in Vietnam, which
boasts modern technological and managerial skills and high level of
specialisation. VNPT involves in multi-businesses and multi-sectors, of which
posts, telecommunications and IT are major. VNPT applies different types of
ownership in its businesses, while at the same time maintaining a close
combination between business and science and technology, R&D and training.
VNPT has set up co-operative relationships with hundreds of foreign partners,
and has opened its branch in the US.
VNPT has about 90,000 employees.
VNPT generated a revenue of VND 45.8 trillion in 2007, earning a profit of over
VND 14 trillion.
About Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin Commercial
Space Systems is a unit of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Lockheed
Martin Space Systems Company, a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin
Corporation, designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full
spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security, civil and
commercial customers. Chief products include human space flight systems; a full
range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications
satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft;
laser radar; fleet ballistic missiles; and missile defence
systems.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about
140,000 people world-wide and is principally engaged in the research, design,
development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology
systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2007 sales of US$ 41.9
billion.
(source: Lockheed Martin)
