Jun 11 2003
From The Space Library
ESA launched aboard an Ariane 5G rocket Optus-1, a Japanese-built, hybrid communications/military satellite jointly owned by Australia and Singapore, and B-Sat 2C, a Japanese geostationary communications satellite from Kourou, French Guiana. The Australian Defence Force and Optus, the Australian telecommunications firm and subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications, had jointly funded the Optus-1 craft. To avoid mixing up data between defense and commercial applications, the two portions of the Optus-1 payload operated independently, one devoted to military use and the other to television broadcasts, high-speed Internet services, and voice and data communications across Australia and parts of Asia. B-Sat 2C would provide direct digital broadcasts to Japan and neighboring countries using Ku-band transponders. (Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 596; Agence France-Presse, “Europe Launches Japanese-Built Australian Military Satellite Half Owned by Singapore Government,” 12 June 2003.
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