Heaptalk, Jakarta — Telkom’s subsidiary Telkomsat will launch the Merah Putih 2 satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States (02/21) using Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket, Falcon 9.
According to the President Director of Telkom, Ririek Adriansyah, the launch of this satellite will create connectivity equality in the archipelago, complement Telkom’s land and sea infrastructure, and expedite digitalization in overall aspects.
The Merah Putih Satellite has a capacity of up to 32 Gbps and carries an active transponder consisting of the C-band and Ku-band frequencies. Telkom claimed that this satellite coverage covers the overall area of Indonesia.
In response to this move, Minister of SOE Erick Thohir revealed on his Instagram account, “SOE through Telkom intends to expedite internet connectivity in the country by launching the Merah Putih 2 Satellite. We expect our people to gain benefits from the internet to improve their abilities through the internet backings, for the vision of a Golden Indonesia 2045.”
After being unleashed into space, Indonesia’s Merah Putih 2 Satellite will fill an orbital slot of 113 degrees East Longitude (113 EL). Previously, Telkom has also launched the Merah Putih, with a placement point in orbit slot 108 East Longitude as of 2018. If the launch process goes smoothly, Telkomsat will operate three active satellites, consisting of Telkom-3S, Telkom Merah Putih, and Merah Putih 2.
“Powered by an advanced Spacebus 400B2 platform and has a design life of 15 years, this satellite is the result of collaboration with Thales Alenia Space in manufacturing and facilitating a smooth launch by SpaceX, as a partner who has experience in earlier Telkom satellite projects,” Telkomsat’s President Director, Lukman Hakim Abd. Rauf said in the press release.
In his further statement, Lukman emphasized that the partner selection and satellite procurement process complies with compliance principles and good corporate governance.
Regarding business, partner selection also considers low costs per Gbps to produce satellites with larger capacities and competitive selling prices. Although the satellite has not been officially launched, the company claimed that several corporations and Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) operators are interested in using the Merah Putih 2 satellite service.
