Some info about Measat-3a.

LOCATION
Orbital Location
91.5° East
Geographic Coverage
Asian, Australia, Middle East and Eastern Africa
BACKGROUND
Launch Vehicle
Land Launch Zenit – 3SLB
Present Status
To be launched June 2009
SPACECRAFT
Type of Satellite
Orbital STAR-2
Stabilization
3 axis stabilized
Supplier Orbital Sciences Corporation
TWTA Power 60 Watts
TRANSPONDER & PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS
Bandwidth
36 MHz
Channel Polarization
Linear
EIRP (dBW) 42
G/T (dB/°K) +0.9

Source: http://www.measat.com/satellite_91e_measat3a.html

“Launch..”

From thestar.com.my

Measat-3a: Successful lift-off

PETALING JAYA: Measat Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd’s Measat-3a satellite blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:30am Malaysian time on Monday.

Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said he was “very proud and jubilant.”

Measat’s fourth satellite was manufactured by US-based Orbital Sciences Corp and was launched on a Zenit 3-SLB Landlaunch launch vehicle.

Measat said the satellite would add 12 Ku-Band and 12 C-Band transponders to its fleet, increasing by 50% the amount of satellite capacity at the company’s prime 91.50E orbital hot slot.

“With Ku-Band coverage of Malaysia and Indonesia and a C-Band beam that reaches over 110 countries representing 70% of the world’s population, the satellite will support the continued growth of the company’s broadcasting and telecommunications business,” it said in an earlier statement.

From BTtimes.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan: Malaysia’s newest satellite, MEASAT-3a, blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5.50 am Malaysian time here today.
It was launched in cool and windy condition.
MEASAT-3a was supposed to have been launched in August last year, but a overhead crane accident damaged it while it was being prepared for launch and had to be returned to Dulles for repair.
The US$165 million MEASAT-3a will increase the company’s amount of satellite capacity significantly.
Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim led a group of 50 people to witness the launch of Measat Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd’s fourth satellite, replacing MEASAT 1 and 2 which are scheduled to complete its service in 2015.
The satellite will be operational in July.
Rais said he was jubilant and proud of the successful launch as it would help enhance Malaysia’s position in the international satellite business as well as broadcasting.
“It will also lay the groundwork for Malaysians themselves to design, create and manufacture their own satellite in the future and not depend on others, a move which would be regarded as a “shot in the arm” for Malaysia’s creative industry,” he said after witnessing the launch of 2,366kg MEASAT-3a here.
The launch was telecast live over Awani, on Astro channel 501.
Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) group chief executive officer Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa was also present.
Rais said this was the first time he witnessed a satellite launch. MEASAT-3a, manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corp of Dulles, US, was a historical ocassion for 14 top students from Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom.
For them, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness a satellite launch.
The five Malaysian students were: Ahmad Ruiz Mohd Asri from Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur; Edmund Chen Min Lau from Kuching, Sarawak; Lina Na’ilah Abdul Talip from Kajang; Chandra Sekhar Kuppusamy from Johor Baru, and Cliff Asher R. Ongil from Beaufort, Sabah. — Bernama

Hmm.. run a few google search for “Measat 3a

MEASAT 3a [OSC]

MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (formerly known as Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd.) announced in November 2005 the execution of a contract for the procurement of the MEASAT-1R spacecraft from Orbital Sciences Corporation. MEASAT-1R will provide high powered C and Ku-band capacity over Malaysia, Indonesia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. In early 2008, the satellite was renamed MEASAT-3a.

The MEASAT-1R satellite will employ 12 C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders, each providing 36 MHz of bandwidth, over a 15 year minimum service life. The MEASAT-1R C-band payload, providing a global single beam covering Eastern Africa, The Middle East, Asia and Australia, has been designed to support the next generation of telecommunications and video services. The Ku-band payload, with two focused beams providing coverage over Malaysia and Indonesia, will support new Direct to Home (“DTH”) video and data services.

and Bernama :
http://www.skyrocket.de/space/img_sat/measat-3a__1.jpg

June 12, 2009 20:55 PM

Measat-3A In Final Preparation For June 22 Launch

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) — Measat Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd’s Measat-3A satellite is now at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan in final preparations for the launch on June 22.

In a statement here Friday, Measat said the satellite, its fourth, was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corp of Dulles, US, and was scheduled for launch on a Zenit 3-SLB Landlaunch launch vehicle at 3.50am local time (5.50am KL time).

It said the satellite would add an additional 12 Ku-Band and 12 C-Band transponders to its fleet, increasing by 50 percent the amount of satellite capacity at the company’s prime 91.50E orbital hot slot.

“With Ku-Band coverage of Malaysia and Indonesia and a C-Band beam that reaches over 110 countries representing 70 percent of the world’s population, the satellite will support the continued growth of the company’s broadcasting and telecommunications business,” it said.

— BERNAMA

Doesn’t that mean…
it was started after the “RazakSAT” (2001) but yet..
launched earlier than “RazakSAT”..
and yet to be operational to fulfill commercial need by July 2009.

Oh..could be because of the cheapest launcher that had been selected for the RazakSAT?

cheapest-bid

(pics taken from  a book : Solar Power for dummies. the 3rd last page.)

p/s : I will reserve my comment until “RazakSAT” got launch…