SpaceX will Launch Indonesian Satellite

TheIndonesia.id - The Minister of Communication and Information (Kominfo) made a working visit to the United States (US) to review the progress of the hot backup satellite (HBS) for Indonesia at Boeing, SpaceX, and the Hughes Network System. During the working visit, Minister Johnny G. Plate was accompanied by President Director of BAKTI (Telecommunication Accessibility Agency), Kominfo, Anang Latief; director general of resources, postal equipment, and information technology (SDPPI), Kominfo, Ismail; and director general of information and public communication (IKP), Kominfo, Usman Kansong.

"We will use HBS to provide backup support to mitigate any risks that may occur to the SATRIA-1 satellite. In addition to having the main function as a backup for SATRIA-1, the provision of HBS aims to increase Internet speed and improve user experience," Latief said in a statement received here on Monday, July 25, 2022.

Boeing will be responsible as a satellite manufacturing company for the hot backup satellite (HBS) project, he informed. SpaceX will provide a rocket launcher for the HBS, and the Hughes Network System will provide broadband solutions for the High Throughput Satellite (HTS) technology used by HBS.

Latief said that the HBS project has been running since October 19, 2021, when BAKTI carried out a procurement based on the regulation of the president director of BAKTI No. 4/2021 concerning procedures for the procurement of goods/services for the provision of hot backup satellite for digital transformation.

The HBS program is on target and has entered the construction phase in 2022, with the estimated time of launching into orbit being the first quarter of 2023, Latief informed. 

It is hoped that in the fourth quarter of 2023, the satellite would be able to operate to serve the community. Latief also said he hopes that the satellite would be able to provide equal access and connectivity to the Indonesian people.

"With satellites, remote points can be reached easily and evenly. Satellite technology complements various signal and Internet access infrastructure facilities that have been built by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, such as high-speed Internet backbone networks and thousands of 4G BTS (base transceiver stations) in the outermost, underdeveloped, and frontier (3T) areas," he added.

In addition to visiting Boeing, SpaceX, and Hughes Network System, Minister Plate also met with representatives from communications and other technology industries such as Qualcomm, Cisco, Maxar, and Meta during his visit.