VIRGINIA: Orbital Sciences Corporation has signed a contract with Indonesia's state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telkom to manufacture a communications satellite.

The satellite, based on the company's STAR-2 platform, will carry 24 C-band transponders and will be designed for a 15-year in-orbit life. The contract calls for a satellite delivery schedule that supports a planned launch in late 2004.

The new satellite for TELKOM will be launched into geosynchronous orbit, 22,300 miles above the Earth, at 118 degrees East longitude. The satellite will enable Telkom to replace its existing Palapa-B4 satellite with an expansion of its coverage area into Southern Asia and the Indian subcontinent in addition to its current Indonesian capacity. The satellite will be used for voice, video and data communications for the region.

The satellite will be based on Orbital's STAR-2 platform, which provides up to 4.5 kilowatts of payload power and can carry as many as 40 transponders for C-, L-, S-, X-, Ka- and Ku-band applications. STAR-2 satellites range in launch mass from approximately 1,500 to 2,300 kilograms. Orbital also offers a slightly smaller GEO platform, the STAR-1, which provides up to 1.5 kilowatts of payload power and weighs approximately 1,000 to 1,500 kilograms at launch.

To date, Orbital has manufactured and launched four GEO satellites and has six other GEO spacecraft in various stages of design or production.