Denpasar – Every July 9th is celebrated as Palapa Satellite Day. Palapa is the name of a satellite that has been owned by Indonesia since 1976. The Palapa satellite is the first domestic satellite communication system (SKSD) to provide telephone and fax services between cities in Indonesia.

According to the culture.kemdikbud.go.id page, Indonesia is the first country in Asia and the third in the world to operate a domestic satellite communication system after America and Canada. Launching and using this satellite is like a TV, radio and internet transmitter.

The name Palapa Satellite itself is known to have been given by President Soeharto. The name of this satellite refers to the oath of Patih Gajah Mada of the Majapahit kingdom in 1334. Let’s have a look at the history and full list of Palapa satellites that have been launched here.

Palapa Satellite Day History

Reporting from detik.com page citing a book by G Dwipayana and Ramadhan KH titled “Suharto My Thoughts, Speeches and Actions” (1989), Suharto said that Indonesia needed a domestic satellite communication system to facilitate communication with all Indonesian islands.

Based on the official Kominfo website, the Palapa Satellite project was also designed by the Hughes Aircraft Company, from the United States. This project was completed in just 17 months.

The Palapa satellite was then launched with a Delta rocket at the Kennedy Space Center, Tanjung Canaveral, United States of America, on July 8, 1976. President Soeharto and other officials witnessed the launch of the Palapa satellite via the station from main control of Cibinong satellite (SPU) over Jalan Narogong, Kembang Kuning, Klapanunggal, Bogor, Friday July 9, 1976, since 06.13 WIB.

The rocket successfully ejected the Palapa A1 satellite and is in geostationary orbit with a position of 83 degrees east longitude or an altitude of 30,500 kilometers. At 2:00 p.m. WIB, first contact was heard with SPU Cibinong ground station. Since then, July 9 has been celebrated as Satellite Palapa Day.

9 Palapa Satellites in Indonesia

Along with the development of technology, the Palapa satellite also underwent regeneration and so far there were 9 satellites, namely:

1. Satellite Palapa A-1 (1976-1983)

This satellite transmits signals throughout the archipelago, even to neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. This satellite is under the supervision of Perumtel. The Palapa A-1 satellite weighs 574 kg, is 3.7 meters high, 1.9 meters in diameter and has an antenna with a diameter of 1.5 meters.

2. Satellite Palapa A-2 (1977-1987)

This second satellite project was carried out as a backup in the event of a breakdown of the A-1 satellite. The A-2 satellite was launched in March 1977 with a Delta 2914 rocket to maintain stable communication services in Indonesia.

3. Satellite Palapa B-1 (1983-1990)

The government again launched the Palapa B-1 satellite on June 18, 1983, via the Challenger aircraft 7th mission STS. This satellite is operated by control stations in El Segundo, California, namely Operations Control Center and SPU (Master Control Station) Cibinong and Fillmore in Ventura City. This satellite should be able to meet the needs of ASEAN countries.

4. Satellite Palapa B-2 (1984 failure)

The Palapa B-2 satellite, which is the B-plane of the Palapa B-1 satellite, was launched on February 3, 1984. However, it failed. Due to this failure, the government again created the Palapa B-2 Substitute satellite project or abbreviated as B2P.

5. Palapa Satellite B2P (1987-1996)

On March 20, 1987, the B2P Palapa satellite was launched conventionally via a rocket system. The rocket launch was previously scheduled for 1986, but was postponed to 1987 due to the Challenger plane crashing and exploding in mid-air.

6. Satellite Palapa B2R (1990-2000)

After a launch failure, the Palapa B2 satellite was bought and recycled by Sattel Technologies and then bought by Perumtel in 1990 under the name Palapa B2R. This satellite was launched via Delta 6925.

7. Satellite Palapa B4 (1992-2005)

On May 14, 1992, the Palapa B4 satellite was launched. The launch took 4 days to test equipment and communications to verify the functionality and impact of the transponder after launch.

8. Palapa C1 Satellite (1996-1999) and Palapa C2 Satellite (1996-2011)

Palapa C1 satellite has wider coverage area, such as Southeast Asia, parts of China, India, Japan and Australia. The Palapa C satellite is also operated by a national company called Satelindo, which is now called Indosat.

9. Satellite Palapa D (2009-2024)

The Palapa D satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space in France. Using components from the SpaceBus 4000-B3 platform, this satellite is also capable of covering Asia, Southeast Asia and all of Indonesia.

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