Indonesia, with the help of billionaire Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, launched its first government-owned internet satellite from US soil, with the aim of connecting thousands of schools and hospitals across the country, as reported by AFP.
More than a third of Indonesians, especially those in the country’s remote, island-dotted interior, lack access to the internet. Monday morning, Indonesian time, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from a launch site in Florida with the European-built SATRIA-1 aboard.
Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida was the site of SpaceX’s launch of the PSN SATRIA mission to geosynchronous transfer orbit, the company said on its website. French defence electronics manufacturer Thales spent $540 million on the satellite. Jakarta expected the satellites to wire up a total of 90,000 institutions, including 40,000 healthcare facilities and governmental structures.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo hailed the launch of Indonesia’s “first government-owned multi-function satellite with the biggest capacity in Asia.” As he put it, it would “orbit above Papua province, Indonesia’s easternmost region.”
The satellite launched using SpaceX can help in many scenarios
Internet connectivity will be provided to “remote, isolated, and outermost areas,” with a focus on education, healthcare, and public service, as stated by acting communication and informatics minister Mahfud MD.
He explained that “Satellite of the Republic of Indonesia” (or “SATRIA”) was an abbreviation.
By 2024, the gadget is expected to go live and provide a connection speed of 150 GBps, which is three times as fast as the current satellite internet bandwidth in the archipelago. In a news release, Thales said that “the most powerful in the Southeast Asia region” satellite would be used to “bridge the digital divide” in Indonesia.
Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, president commissioner of PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), said in a speech televised before the unveiling that the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine had slowed building. The company is collaborating on this initiative with the government of Indonesia.
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