Ailing Peacesat to get funds

Press, 24 May 1985, Page 2

Ailing Peacesat to get funds

Wellington reporter

The Government has restored funding for the South Pacific satellite link, Peacesat, to the level before the previous Government cut support in 1982. Peacesat would get $6300 from the Wellington Polytechnic until the end of September, when its working life was expected to end, said the Minister of Education, Mr Marshall.

Peacesat was used extensively by Government departments, education institutions and voluntary groups to link directly with equivalent organisations and groups on the Pacific Islands. The groups included the Red Cross, the Girl Guides Association, and the Boys’ Brigade. The Government had been advised by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration that Peacesat’s life expectancy was now much shorter than expected, Mr Marshall said. Instead of running for another 10 years, it was expected to lose contact with ground stations by August and be deactivated in September.

This meant that the Wellington terminal would be in use for only another four months, after years of providing a valuable service to the Pacific Islands. Mr Marshall said he had asked his department to examine the likely costs of linking into an alternative network.