Ukraine War Disrupts Indonesia Satellite Program

TheIndonesia.id - The Indonesian Communication and Informatics Ministry is seeking an alternative cargo plane to transport SATRIA-1 satellite after an Antonov An-225 Mriya, its initial choice for the task, was destroyed during the war in Ukraine.

"While there is a war happening in Ukraine, our satellite remains on schedule," Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate stated on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

Indonesia initially planned to utilize the largest cargo plane in the world to transport the SATRIA-1 satellite from France, where it is being manufactured, to the United States, where it will be launched. However, the Antonov An-225 Mriya plane was destroyed during an attack by Russian troops on Hostomel airport, outside of Kyiv, on February 27, 2022.

This has created a problem for Indonesia because there are not many Antonov cargo planes available in the world. According to the minister, there are only 15 Antonov planes, and seven of them belong to Russia. These cannot be used due to the sanctions imposed on the nation.

The other eight Antonov planes, including the destroyed Antonov An-225 Mriya, belonged to Ukraine. There are at least three Antonov planes that cannot be used because they are in a war zone.

The ministry is now planning to use Airbus Beluga to transport SATRIA-1 from its manufacturing location in Toulouse and Cannes, France, and Belfast, Ireland, to the launch site owned by SpaceX in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the US.

In addition, the ministry is also considering sea transportation, Plate informed. Antonov An-225 Mriya is the largest and heaviest plane that has ever been built and is capable of transporting 640 tons of cargo.

As per Ukraine's defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom’s estimate, fixing the plane will take a long time and cost more than US$3 billion.

The SATRIA-1 satellite is scheduled for launch in the middle of 2023 and is expected to become operational in the last quarter of the same year.