M2A

Indonesia's first private satellite-based telecommunications company, P.T. Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) announced the signing of a contract worth approximately US$350 million with Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for the procurement of a satellite for its M2A (Multi-Media Asia) Satellite System.

The M2A satellite was to be a LS-1300S spacecraft bus providing 10.4 kilowatts of power with 12 years mission life. Its antennas were to provide multi-beam coverage of the Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia, Australia, India, China, Indochina, Korea, Japan and ASEAN.

The satellite's dry mass, estimated at 1960 kg, was to be launched to geostationary orbit by the Delta-4M+(5,4). The satellite was to have the equivalent capacity of C-band 84 transponders with 200,000 simultaneous circuits capable of providing 4 million fixed telephone lines and 100 television channels. X-band transponders werw also to be carried to provide gateway services. It was to be the most powerful C-band transponder craft so far launched.

In addition to offering low cost rural telephony to the rapidly expanding economies in Asia, the M2A system was also to provide data, facsimile, Internet access, and video multi-media services to a potential subscriber base of millions.

In 1998, the contract was cancelled, but later reinstated. In 2001 PSN contracted with Boeing for the launch of M2A on a Delta-4M+(5,4) booster. M2A was cancelled later again.