MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: New Straits Times

Petaling Jaya, Fri. - Malaysia's third satellite, the Mediumsize Aperture Camera Satellite (Macsat), will be launched late next year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohammad said today.

The satellite is being built by a Malaysian company, Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd, at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science in Daejon, South Korea.

Speaking at a Press conference on his return from a working visit to Japan and South Korea, Dr Mahathir said he was briefed about the project before his return to Kuala Lumpur today.

"This is another of our remarkable achievements as there are 16 engineers from Malaysia who are involved in the design and construction of the satellite to be launched into equatorial orbit, most probably by the end of 2003."

He added that he was pleased to see the capability of the Malaysian engineers whose attributes are even recognised by the Koreans.

Malaysia started its space programme witht the launch of the Malaysia East Asian Satellite (Measat) in 1996 followed by the home-made TiungSAT-1 microsatellite in 2000.

Both satellites are used for meteorology, disaster mitigation and management, pollution monitoring, digital communication and land use mapping.