The Explosive Launch of SATRIA 1: Wonder How Does Satellite Work and How if Starlink Replace SATRIA?

Indonesia and Meager Internet Access 

Internet access is one of the main elements nowadays. But not all the surface can access the internet easily, especially in Indonesia. Indonesia's government has tried its best to solve this issue. Indonesia is one of the countries with less internet access coverage. Indonesian government is keen to cover internet access for all areas in Indonesia.

Regarding increasing the internet access coverage Indonesia has conducted the launching of SATRIA 1 (Satellite of the Republic of Indonesia) on 19th June 2023 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. SATRIA 1 was created by PSN in 2020 in California. This project is under the Indonesia government's responsibility as an effort to increase the speed internet in Indonesia and also to cover the deep and small areas in Indonesia due to Indonesia needs speed internet access for all industries such as health, economy, education, etc. It is anticipated that each point of contact will have 4 Mbps of internet speed. This speed has grown from the project's initial estimate of 1 Mbps made in 2018.

The Journey of SATRIA 1 

SpaceX tweeted the deployment of SATRIA 1 and got many reactions. Space website had also declared officially the launching of SATRIA 1. SATRIA 1 is the first Indonesian satellite with Very High-Throughput Satellite (VHTS) capacity, manufactured by Thales Alenia Space and launched into orbit from Florida using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. This satellite will be orbited in Papua. SATRIA 1 has a height of 6,5 meters and a weight of 4,5 tons. SATRIA 1 can be operated for 15 years long. This satellite is expected to cover 150,000 areas in Indonesia. Moreover, for the school sector, the health sector with 3.700 public health centers, the political and law sector with 3.900 areas, and the district government with 47.900 areas, which can be calculated by 50,000 of the area total. The Indonesian government has stated that it will offer internet connectivity to 50,000 public service stations with a tremendous throughput capacity of 150 gigabytes per second.

A public-private partnership (PPP) program was utilized to carry out the SATRIA project. Through the Public Service Agency BAKTI Kominfo, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) serves as the Responsible Agency for Partnership Projects (PJPK). On April 26, 2019, BAKTI conducted the procurement auction and declared the PSN Consortium the winner. The winning bidder in the auction, the PSN Consortium, then created PT Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT), an Implementing Business Entity (BUP).

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. SATRIA 1 was launched by SpaceX. In 2020 Indonesian government created this project through collaboration with SpaceX to Revolutionize Space Exploration increasing Indonesia's internet access and getting internet connection equity in Indonesia. In fact, Indonesia was in 98 ranks in internet access speed in the world.

There are 11 Earth (gateway) stations spread across different parts of Indonesia, including Cikarang, Batam, Banjarmasin, Pontianak, Tarakan, Manado, Kupang, Ambon, Manokwari, Timika, and Jayapura. These stations support satellite operations.

The main control center and satellite network center are located in Cikarang, West Java, while there is also a backup control center in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. PSN is working with The North West China Research Institute of Electronic Equipment (NWIEE) for the construction of antennas at 11 gateways.

The Angst of Starlink, Elon Musk Plans To Come To Indonesia

There was an issue that Starlink Elon Musk would come to Indonesia. Furthermore, Luhut had tried to ask Elon Musk to invest in Indonesia in the internet and nickel sector. This issue intrigued many angst from media that Starlink can replace the SATRIA 1 that currently had been launched. On the other hand, Budi Arie Setiadi, Minister of Communication and Informatics claimed that Starlink's visit will not distract the SATRIA 1. Its visit is for integrating the internet connection in Indonesia while SATRIA 1 is still under measurement and monitoring. It will be a perfect combination in order to increase the equity of internet access in Indonesia.