Indonesia’s Satria-1 broadband satellite deployed its solar panels after SpaceX Falcon 9 launched into geosynchronous orbit over the weekend, Thales Alenia Space announced on June 19th. Sandrine Bilecki, spokesperson for Thales Alenia Space, said it will take about five months for Indonesia’s first very high efficiency satellite (VHTS) to reach its orbital dock at 146 degrees east using onboard electric propulsion.

After Thales Alenia Space reaches stationary orbit later this year, Satria-1 (also known as Nusantara 3) will need to perform about three weeks of testing before it can go into commercial operation.

By early 2024, the $545 million satellite is scheduled to begin providing approximately 150 gigabits per second of bandwidth to thousands of islands in the Indonesian archipelago and surrounding regions.

SpaceX launched the 4.6-ton spacecraft at 6:21 p.m. ET on June 18 from the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Satria-1 left Falcon 9 around 37 minutes into the mission, during which SpaceX returned the first-stage launch vehicle for reuse.

PT Satelit Nusantara Tiga, an Indonesian consortium led by domestic operator Pacific Satelit Nusantara (PSN), is set to operate Satria-1 as part of a public-private partnership with the country’s government.

The successful launch marks an important milestone for Indonesia’s broadband ambitions. This comes after pandemic-related funding and production delays forced the government to extend a deadline from international regulators to put the satellite into service.

PSN also plans to operate the Nusantara Lima geostationary satellite (also known as Nusantara 5) that Boeing is building for SpaceX’s launch this year. Meanwhile, Thales Alenia Space plans to deliver a broadband satellite called Telkom 113 in 2024 for Telkomsat, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state-owned telecommunications operator Telkom.

Indonesia’s geography is conducive to satellite communications because of the operational and financial challenges of deploying terrestrial networks in a region of more than 18,000 islands and islets, of which 6,000 are inhabited by the government. However, foreign broadband operators in low Earth orbit, including SpaceX, Starlink, are also looking for this market opportunity. According to the availability map, Starlink will be available in Indonesia in 2024, following its commercial launch in the Philippines. Source