Indonesia launches govt-owned satellite on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket
The European-built SATRIA-1 took off early Monday Indonesia time from a Florida launch station
June 19, 2023
Indonesia, with the help of billionaire Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched its first government-owned internet satellite from the US soil Monday for providing access to faraway parts of the country, with the island hoping to connect thousands of schools and hospitals, reported AFP.
More than one-third of the residents of Indonesia do not have internet access more importantly the people living in the far-flung areas of the country consisting of 17,000 islands.
The European-built SATRIA-1 took off early Monday Indonesia time from a Florida launch station, deployed by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
"SpaceX launched the PSN SATRIA mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida," Musk’s aerospace firm wrote on its website.
The satellite — built by French defence electronics company Thales — cost $540 million. Jakarta hoped that the satellites will connect 90,000 schools, 40,000 hospitals, and government buildings.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo called it the country’s "first government-owned multi-function satellite with the biggest capacity in Asia" in an Instagram post, Monday.
He said it would "orbit above Papua province, Indonesia’s easternmost region."
It will "distribute internet access, especially for education, health, and public service in the remote, isolated, and outermost areas", acting communication and informatics minister Mahfud MD said.
He said SATRIA was an acronym for "Satellite of the Republic of Indonesia".
The device is scheduled to come online by 2024 and will offer a connection speed of 150 gigabytes per second — three times the current speed of satellite internet in the archipelago.
Thales said in a press release that the satellite would "bridge the digital divide" in Indonesia and be "the most powerful in the Southeast Asia region".
Its construction was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, added Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, president commissioner of PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), in a speech broadcast during the launch.
The company is part of the project in partnership with the Indonesian government.
