TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
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.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
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)
T
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.
