The Palapa-D satellite was successfully launched from the Xichang launch centre at 9:28 UT, 31st August, 2009; however, a restart failure of the third stage rocket resulted in lower than planned orbit. The satellite will eventually be de-orbited.
Indosat Ready to Launch Palapa-D Satellite from China President Director and Chief Executive Officer of PT Indosat, Tbk, Harry Sasongko, has said that the telecommunication and multimedia company with more than 30 million customers is ready to operate satellite Palapa-D that is scheduled to be launched this afternoon.
A Long March Chang Zheng 3B rocket is scheduled to launch the Palapa D1 geostationary communications satellite from the Xichang launch centre, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, on the 31st August, 2009. The 4100-kg satellite is to replace the Palapa-C2 satellite, at the 113º East orbital slot, and will provide coverage for Asia, Indonesia, the Middle East and Australia. The satellite has a design lifetime of 15 years.