Sri Lanka's First Satellite Launch - SupremeSAT – I

[Accountant - Kuramathi]

 

Sri Lanka's first Communications Satellite SupremeSAT – I will be launched on November 27, 2012 at 15:43hrs on board China's Long March 3B/E Launch Vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. This will be the beginning of new era for Sri Lanka and will be etched in our country's proud history & will stand as a major milestone for Sri Lanka in developing the Motherland as a Naval, Aviation, Commercial, Energy and Knowledge hub, serving as a key link between the East and West.

The satellite will be deployed at 87.5E in the Geo-stationary orbit approximately 36000 km above the surface of the earth and has a design life of 15 years. The SupremeSAT – I was built by Thales Alenia Space of France. Design is based on SB 4000 series satellite bus which comes under the medium class telecommunications satellite category with its launch mass of 5100kg. SB 4000 series has a successful flight heritage, hence it's a very stable and reliable space platform. Having a payload of 56 transponders on board SupremeSAT will be capable of providing communications services, including broadband Internet, telecom and broadcasting and will cover parts of the Middle East, South & Central Asia and also Australia.

Reuters) - Sri Lanka launched its first communications satellite on Tuesday in partnership with a Chinese state-owned space technology firm, the Sri Lanka partner said, adding to unease in neighboring India about Beijing's growing ties with the island nation.

The Sri Lankan government has emphasized the launch was a private effort, carried out by SupremeSAT (Pvt) Ltd and the China Great Wall Industry Corp. But Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's youngest son, Rohitha, has been credited in domestic media as the creator of the satellite.

Vijith Peiris, chief executive of SupremeSAT, told Reuters in Colombo that the launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in western China was successful.

The joint launch marked the latest in a series of economic and military ties between the two countries, a relationship that is being closely watched by India.