19-6-2023 (JAKARTA) Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, in collaboration with Indonesia, has successfully launched a satellite from the United States with the aim of providing high-speed internet access to remote areas across Indonesia’s vast archipelago, which consists of over 17,000 islands.
A significant portion of Indonesia’s population lacks internet access, particularly in remote regions of the country, which is the fourth most populous in the world.
The European-built SATRIA-1 satellite took off early Monday local time from a launch station in Florida, propelled into space 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,” the company stated on its website.
The satellite, constructed by French defense electronics company Thales, had a price tag of $540 million. The Indonesian government aims to utilize the satellite to connect 90,000 schools, 40,000 hospitals, and government buildings.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo described it as the “first government-owned multi-function satellite with the biggest capacity in Asia” in an Instagram post on Monday. He specified that it would orbit above the Papua province, which is located in the easternmost part of Indonesia.
The satellite’s primary purpose is to “provide internet access, especially for education, health, and public services in remote, isolated, and outlying areas,” stated Mahfud MD, the acting Minister of Communication and Informatics.
SATRIA, which stands for “Satellite of the Republic of Indonesia,” is scheduled to be operational by 2024 and will offer a connection speed of 150 gigabytes per second, three times faster than the current satellite internet speed available in the archipelago.
Thales, in a press release, highlighted that the satellite would “bridge the digital divide” in Indonesia and become “the most powerful in the Southeast Asia region.”
Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, the President Commissioner of PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), the company involved in the project in partnership with the Indonesian government, mentioned that the satellite’s construction faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, during a speech broadcasted during the launch.
The successful launch of the satellite marks a significant step towards improving internet connectivity in Indonesia, providing opportunities for economic development, education, and healthcare in remote areas across the archipelago.
