TAMPA, Fla. — Indonesia’s Satria-1 broadband satellite deployed its solar panels after launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 to geosynchronous transfer orbit over the weekend, manufacturer Thales Alenia Space said June 19.
It should take about five months for Indonesia’s first very high throughput (VHTS) satellite to achieve its 146 degrees East orbital slot via onboard electric propulsion, Thales Alenia Space spokesperson Sandrine Bielecki said.
Once it reaches its geostationary orbital slot late this yr, Thales Alenia Space might want to conduct about three weeks of tests before Satria-1 (also often known as Nusantara 3) can enter business service.
The $545 million satellite is slated to begin providing around 150 gigabits per second of capability across the 1000’s of islands within the Indonesian archipelago, and surrounding areas, by early 2024.
SpaceX launched the 4.6-metric-ton spacecraft June 18 at 6:21 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
Satria-1 separated from Falcon 9 about 37 minutes later in a mission that also saw SpaceX return the rocket’s first-stage booster for reuse.
PT Satelit Nusantara Tiga, an Indonesian consortium led by domestic operator Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), is ready to operate Satria-1 under a public-private partnership with the country’s government.
The successful launch is a key milestone for Indonesia’s broadband ambitions. It comes after financing and pandemic-related manufacturing delays forced the federal government to hunt deadline extensions from international regulators to bring the satellite into use.
PSN can also be in line to operate the geostationary Nusantara Lima satellite (also often known as Nusantara 5), which Boeing is constructing for a SpaceX launch later this yr.
Meanwhile, Thales Alenia Space goals to deliver a broadband satellite in 2024 called Telkom 113 for Telkomsat, a subsidiary of Indonesian state-owned telecoms operator Telkom.
Indonesia’s geography lends itself to satellite-based communications due to operational and financial challenges of deploying terrestrial networks over a territory with greater than 18,000 islands and islets — of which the federal government says 6,000 are inhabited.
Nonetheless, foreign low Earth orbit broadband operators, including SpaceX’s, Starlink are also chasing this market opportunity.
Starlink is slated to be available in Indonesia in 2024, in accordance with its availability map, following its business launch within the Philippines.