It is called Satria-1 and was successfully launched into orbit. Manufactured in Indonesia and assembled in France, the project cost $540 million. Two thirds of Indonesians have Internet access, but connectivity is limited in the eastern islands.
Jakarta () – The Indonesian government and Space X, the company of billionaire Elon Musk, have launched the Satria-1 satellite into orbit to connect even the most remote areas of the country to the Internet.
The Satria-1 (acronym for “Satelite Republik Indonesia”), manufactured by Satelite Nusantara and assembled by the French company Thales Aleni Space, was successfully launched into orbit today by means of the Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral base in Florida. The project, initially estimated at 450 million dollars, ended up costing 540 million.
About two thirds of Indonesia’s population (280 million people) have Internet access, but in the country’s eastern islands, still underdeveloped in some respects, connectivity is limited.
“Satellite technology will speed up Internet access in villages in areas not reached by fiber optics in the next 10 years,” Mahfud MD, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, said in a pre-launch note. .
The satellite will occupy a place in space over the eastern region of Papua province and provide Internet access to 50,000 service points, according to the government. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Twitter that Satria-1 was designed to enable “digital equality for the entire population of the country” to be achieved.
