Mission description
In November 1991, PanAmSat Corporation ordered three Hughes HS-601 model PAS (PanAmSat) satellites from Hughes Space and Communications Company. The satellites provide video services for program distribution and syndication; data services for business applications; and services for video, radio, data and telephone transmission. They were placed over the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, respectively. In August 1993, PanAmSat ordered a fourth satellite, to be used as a spare. The spare was pressed into service to replace the first PAS-3 spacecraft, which was lost during a launch vehicle failure. The MEASAT system will provide the first direct-to-user (DTU) service in Malaysia, as well as general communications services in an area reaching from India to Hawaii and from Japan to East Australia. Among DTU services are television and educational programs beamed to small (50-cm) home antennas. General regional communications services include telephony, television, data transmission, and business networks. Binariang is the first cellular operator in Malaysia to offer fully digital services.