After successfully launching its LAPAN-TUBSAT satellite last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan) is preparing to construct a second generation version of the earth surveillance satellite for orbit in 2010.
While the construction of the first satellite took place in Germany under the supervision of a professor from the Technische Universitaet Berlin, the construction of the next, named LAPAN-A2, will take place in Indonesia entirely under Indonesian engineers, Lapan head Adi Sadewo Salatun told reporters in Bogor on Thursday.
Adi said several Indonesian engineers had been fully involved in the development and manufacturing process of the LAPAN-TUBSAT satellite from 2003 to 2005. They also learned to control the satellite from the Rumpin ground station in Bogor throughout 2007.
"We gained very valuable experience from developing the LAPAN-TUBSAT satellite and operating it for a year; this is helping our engineers construct the LAPAN-A2 satellite independently and will maximize its use," Adi said on the sidelines of a seminar on LAPAN-TUBSAT evaluation.
Lapan has scheduled a procurement and component test for the LAPAN-A2 for this year, an integration and satellite test for 2009 and the launch for 2010.
The LAPAN-TUBSAT satellite was launched into sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 642.5 kilometers with an inclination of 97.6 degrees on Jan. 10, 2007, at the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota, India.
It travels at a velocity of 7.5 kilometers per second and orbits the Earth some 14 times per day. The Rumpin ground station enables Lapan engineers to access the satellite three to four times a day.
Lapan's deputy of its aviation technology division, Soewarto Hardhienata, said the LAPAN-A2 would have an equatorial orbit, not a polar orbit like the LAPAN-TUBSAT. The equatorial orbit will enable the LAPAN-A2 to pass over the archipelago more frequently.
The LAPAN-A2 will also be equipped with a navigation system that enables ground engineers to control the satellite's position all the time.
Soewarto said both the earth surveillance satellites could produce video images of areas they monitored. The video images could then be modified into digital and thematic images.
"That will be very useful for national defense and security, and other sectors, such as forestry, settlement and agriculture," said Soewarto.
Adi said Indonesia had the ability to make rapid progress in its satellite and rocket projects. However, research and development for such projects had yet to gain support from the government.
"We can catch up with the technology pretty soon. Our biggest constraint is funding. Up to now, these satellite and rocket projects have only been Lapan's, not the entire nation's," he said. (wda)
