Kuala Lumpur – MEASAT announced the successful launch of the MEASAT-3a satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The satellite was launched on a LandLaunch Zenit-3SLB launch vehicle. The historic event was witnessed by a group of senior Malaysian government and private sector officials, as well as a select group of 14 students from Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. When deployed after the completion of in-orbit testing, expected end-July 2009, MEASAT-3a will expand capacity at MEASAT’s key 91.5°E orbital location by 50 percent, providing an additional 24 transponders to the 48 transponders provided by MEASAT-3. The new satellite has been designed to support the continued growth of the company’s direct-to-home (DTH), broadcasting and telecommunications services.