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Govt scraps $328m SATRIA-1 backup satellite plan
The communications ministry's Bakti has cited costs related to maintaining the SATRIA-1 satellite as among the reasons for canceling the HBS project, which it emphasized had not incurred any losses to the state.
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SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket, carrying the Indonesian satellite SATRIA-1, lifts off on June 18, 2023 from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (YouTube account / of President Joko Widodo)
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he government has scrapped a backup satellite project for the Republic of Indonesia Satellite (SATRIA) program, citing a shift in priorities to focus on the main satellite SATRIA-1, which is slated to go online next year.
The Communications and Information Ministry said in a statement released on Friday that its Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency (Bakti) had terminated the Hot Backup Satellite (HBS) project with private consortium Nusantara Jaya, based on a recommendation from its task force.
Following the project’s cancellation, the consortium is to refund the government the Rp 3.5 trillion (US$220 million) already paid under the contract, worth around Rp 5.2 trillion in total.
“[We] decided to terminate the HBS contract early after considering the aspects of urgency, budget, contract progress and operational risks of SATRIA-1,” Bakti task force chairman Sarwoto Atmosutarno said in the ministry’s statement.
“We must focus on SATRIA-1 and must not fail in its implementation.”
The HBS project, originally designed to operate alongside SATRIA-1, was poised to be the most powerful satellite in Asia. As implied in its name, the satellite was to serve as a backup to SATRIA-1 in the event of a launch anomaly, according to the statement.
Sarwoto emphasized that no state losses resulted from the early termination of the HBS contract.
