Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo) has selected the consortium led by the domestic satellite operator Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) to deploy and operate a broadband telecommunication satellite.
This consortium has awarded Thales Alenia Space (Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%)) to design and manufacture the satellite named SATRIA. The Consortium PSN has formed Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT) to be operating company to carry on the project. The shareholders of SNT are PSN, PT Pintar Nusantara Sejahtera (Pintar), PT Nusantara Satelit Sejahtera, and PT Dian Semesta Sentosa (subsidiary of PT Dian Swastatika Sentosa Tbk). PSN and Pintar are the majority shareholders of SNT and both will maintain majority ownership in the operating company throughout the project lifetime.
Artistic rendition of the SATRIA satellite. Courtesy of Thales Alenia Space.
Acting as prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space will deliver the Very High Throughput (VHTS) satellite based on its Spacebus NEO full electric platform and fitted with a fifth-generation digital processor (5G). The company will also be in charge to provide two satellite control centers (main and backup), the telecommand and telemetry stations, and the ground mission segment linked to the fully processed payload.
In addition, Thales Alenia Space will put in place a complete training program for PSN engineers, where part of them will join the project team as residents in Cannes and Toulouse during the duration of the program.
The full Ka-band SATRIA satellite will carry more than 150 gigabits per second over the entire Indonesian territory. Dedicated to narrow the digital divide, SATRIA has the ambition to connect around 145,000 areas that includes 90,000 schools, 40,000 hospitals and public buildings, as well as regional government sites not linked by existing satellite or terrestrial infrastructure. The satellite will contribute to the digital infrastructure developments in Indonesia.
Jean Loic Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space, said the company is particularly honored to provide to PSN for Kominfo its first VHTS telecommunication satellite, which will be the most powerful one over the Asian region. SATRIA will take benefit of all the expertise already developed by Thales Alenia Space on its Spacebus NEO platform as well as on its VHTS payloads. After Palapa-D and Telkom-3S satellites, we are delighted to strengthen our collaboration with Indonesian operators.
Adi Rahman Adiwoso, CEO of PSN, added that as a consortium of Indonesian company, PSN and its partners are proud and grateful for the full trust given by the Government of Indonesia, especially Kominfo, to lead the largest satellite project in the region. We look forward to working together with Thales Alenia Space, a leading manufacturer, in realizing our goal to provide an accelerator for equal access in our communities. This project will undoubtedly give our archipelago the means for steeper growth — SATRIA is expected to be launched in Q4 2022 and will be positioned in orbit at 146° degrees E with an estimated 15 years life expectancy.
