SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Indonesia’s SATRIA-1 Telecommunications Satellite

SpaceX Falcon 9 launched again over the weekend to bring a telecommunication satellite to Indonesia. The blast-off was delayed due to high winds but was successful.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launched SATRIA-1 Telecommunications Satellite

SpaceX brought an Indonesian communications satellite into orbit from Florida Sunday. It lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early evening at 6: 21 p.m. EDT after being delayed for 15 minutes to strong winds, Space.com reported.

A Shortfall of Gravitas, a droneship operated by SpaceX, was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida as the Falcon 9's first stage booster returned to Earth shortly after liftoff.

According to a SpaceX mission description, the touchdown, which occurred 8.5 minutes after takeoff, marks the booster's 12th launch and landing. Four Dragon missions to the International Space Station for NASA, including two crewed and two robotic resupply flights, were among the earlier endeavors.

While doing so, the upper stage of the Falcon 9 continued to transport SATRIA-1 to geosynchronous transfer orbit, where it was eventually deployed just under 37 minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX also announced the deployment of the satellite on Twitter. The US space agency shared a deployment video and said it was "confirmed."

What Is SATRIA-1?

The Indonesian corporation PSN will run SATRIA-1, also known as the "Satellite of the Republic of Indonesia" satellite, on behalf of the Indonesian government.

The $550 million spacecraft "is envisioned to boost connectivity inclusion in the country, providing free internet connection to 150,000 public facilities, including schools, regional government offices, and health facilities," The Jakarta Post reported.

The throughput capacity of SATRIA-1 will be 150 billion bits per second, which is three times as much as the nine communication satellites now in use by Indonesia.

Thales Alenia Space, a well-known French satellite manufacturer, created SATRIA-1. The satellite project is both ambitious and ground-breaking. With an astounding capacity of up to 150Gbps and Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) technology, SATRIA-1 will revolutionize internet services. With this incredible accomplishment, it will cross the 100Gbps barrier and become the biggest satellite in Asia and the sixth largest in the world for its class.

The importance of SATRIA-1 can be attributed to its goal of bridging the digital divide in Indonesia's distant, undeveloped, and "3T" regions. Traditional engineering approaches, including base transceiver stations (BTS), microwave links, and fiber optics, have not successfully bridged the connectivity gap in these areas.

The Indonesian government has announced the launch of SATRIA 1, the first satellite for the Republic of Indonesia, to promote equitable development, notably in digital infrastructure at public service facilities around the country. Communities in public service areas that do not currently have access to the internet or have poor internet quality will greatly benefit from SATRIA 1's internet service provision. The education industry, healthcare institutions, local government offices, the Indonesian National Armed Forces, and the Indonesian National Police offices will be the main beneficiaries of internet access from SATRIA 1, Fox 5 reported.

According to Mahfud MD, the acting minister of communications and informatics, it is hoped that starting in January 2024, the general public can gradually use the internet capacity provided by SATRIA 1.

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