Satria-1 Satellite Reaches 25 Percent Production Stage, Director Of BAKTI Kemenkominfo: Like Rising From The Grave

Satellites are still the means of communication needed by the Indonesian people. (photo: SpaceX via Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Satria-1 project will soon be completed. The government through the Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) of the Ministry of Communication and Information stated that the satellite will broadcast in 2023 with the characteristics of high-speed internet.

President Director of BAKTI Kominfo Anang Latif said, although it is no longer the era of satellites, this technology is undeniably still very much needed.

"Right now, the satellite is like rising from the grave, yes, even though it's not the era anymore. However, this is still needed. Many people don't have internet access, that's why we need satellites. Why satellite? Not terrestrial, because the development took around 10 years, so that's why we just use satellite to make it faster," said Anang in a virtual press conference, Wednesday, July 7.

Anang said the Satria-1 satellite is currently in the construction phase, where it will take about 36 months to produce.

"Satellite production is being carried out in France, and rocket production is in the United States (US). Currently, it is still in the production stage, and it will take 36 months, approximately 20 to 25 percent," explained Anang.

Fortunately, Anang stated that there were no delays in the production process due to the pandemic. "So we have no reports regarding delays due to the pandemic for overseas. More than 90 percent of these use components abroad, while in Indonesia we have not been able to build TKDN because of the pandemic (manufacturing)," he said.

Meanwhile, for this satellite project, BAKTI Kominfo collaborates with PT Satelit Nusantara Tiga, which will later be used in the 146 east longitude (BT) orbital slot, and launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Texas. The cost of providing services per year will cost 1.40 trillion with a concession period of 15 years.

The satellite will launch in 2023. When launched later, the Satria-1 satellite will have a total transmission capacity of 150 Gbps, or three times larger than the total nine satellites currently used by Indonesia. It is claimed, around 1.14GB per user per month with one Satria-1 satellite.

Anang explained, by using satellite, 150,000 points in remote areas that are not covered by fiber optic cables in the Palapa Ring project can enjoy high-speed internet, from schools, village offices, health centers, to hospitals.

However, Anang explained that the Satria-1 satellite has not been able to satisfy all parties. This is because the quota and capacity of the network is not yet strong. It is still necessary for Satria-2 and Satria-3 to orbit to increase internet capacity at each point.

Later, for the second satellite, it will be designed with a capacity of 200 Gbps. While the third satellite is 500 Gbps, "With the second and third satellites, the capacity will increase from only 10 Mbps to 30 Mbps. This is because, in the future, the use of applications requires a large bandwidth of at least 30 Mbps," said Anang.