ST-1 is a
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...
owned by
Singapore Telecom
Singapore Telecommunications Limited, commonly known as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate and one of the four major telcos operating in the country. The company is the largest mobile network operator in Singapore with ...
and
Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Company, Ltd. It was placed launched on 25 August 1998, by an
Ariane 4
The Ariane 4 was a European expendable space launch system, developed by the ''Centre national d'études spatiales'' (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Arian ...
rocket. The two companies jointly operate the spacecraft from control centres located in
Seletar
Seletar is an area located in the north-east of Singapore. Its name can also refer to the Seletar Planning Area (as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority), situated in the North-East Region of Singapore. The place name was derived from th ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, respectively.
ST-1 carries 16 high-power
transponders
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...
and 14 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 K
u-band spot beams: a "K1" beam that stretches from Taiwan to Singapore and from
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
to
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
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.
Singapore Telecom and
Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Company are currently operating the replacement satellite
ST-2 after ST-1 has reached its mission duration in 2011.
References
Communications satellites in geostationary orbit
Spacecraft launched in 1998
First artificial satellites of a country
Singapore–Taiwan relations
Satellites using the Eurostar bus
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