Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government has begun construction of the Earth station for the Satria-1 Satellite project, which will be launched in the second half of 2023.
“The station will transmit radio waves from the satellite to users,” Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate said at the station’s ground-breaking ceremony in Cikarang, Bekasi, West Java on Wednesday.
The Primary Satellite Center — the main control station — and the Network Operations Center will be built at the location, he added.
The government is also planning to build more Earth stations in Batam, Pontianak, Banjarmasin, Tarakan, Kupang, Manado, Ambon, Manokwari, Timika, and Jayapura, he informed.
Furthermore, a Back-up Satellite Control Center will be established in Banjarmasin, the minister said adding, currently, 10 other locations are still at the land provision stage.
The government has decided to construct the station earlier as the project would take a long time to finish, Plate said. Moreover, the government also expects the satellite to operate according to schedule once it is in orbit, he added.
The SATRIA-1 satellite is scheduled to be launched commercially on November 17, 2023, he said.
There will be three types of terrestrial components in the multifunctional satellite system, he disclosed.
The first component will be the master control station for conducting the telemetry, tracking command, and ranging function, he explained. The second one will be a gateway – a part of satellite transmission — to send and receive signals to and from the satellite, he said. The last one will be the Internet server hub, he added.
The government will use the satellite to provide Internet access in remote regions across Indonesia through fiber optic cables at a speed of 150 gigabyte per second through 150 thousand public service points.
Source: ANTARA News