Iskandar Alisjahbana, Father of the Palapa domestic satellite communications system
Nusantara Satu is the first broadband satellite orbited by Indonesia, an innovative idea from two satellite experts, namely Adi Rahman Adiwoso and Iskandar Alisjahbana.
The Nusantara Satu satellite is the 10th satellite operated by PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), following the expiration of the government-owned Palapa B1 satellite. The Nusantara Satu satellite is now the brainchild of two innovative satellite experts, Adi Rahman Adiwasono and Iskandar Alisjahbana.
This idea is part of a national satellite independence initiative that will enable all Indonesians to access the internet more easily without relying on foreign satellite operators.
This is in line with PSN's main objective, which is to provide satellite technology that is capable of providing the best service and meeting the dynamic needs of customers even in remote areas of Indonesia.
Starting from a simple idea, this satellite was uniquely assembled, the booster rocket or Engine Section Stage 1 used was a "reused" rocket division, the fourth after having been used three times for the launch of other satellites. This was considered to reduce the total cost to be incurred.
The installation of the satellite into the rocket body takes 30 days overall, and after launch it will be placed in orbital slot 146 East, right above Papua, Indonesia at an altitude of approximately 70,000 km, and will be controlled through the Satellite Control Center operated by PT PSN Enam Indonesia, a subsidiary of PT PSN in the Jatiluhur area, Purwakarta, West Java.
The Nusantara Satu Satellite Project is no joke. It's estimated to cost up to US$230 million, or around Rp 3.3 trillion. Financing is supported by Export Development Canada (EDC), and construction began in December 2017.
The launch of the first broadband satellite is closely related to the challenges of the era that requires fast internet, which has an impact on developments in all fields and will require the involvement of Information Technology (IT).
The satellite designed by the PSN team with the System Space Loral (SSL) team uses the SSL-1300 140 platform with an economic life of 15 years, has 38 C / Ext-C Band transponders and 8 Ku-Band spotbeams with a total capacity of up to 15 Gigabits per second (Gbps), a launch weight of 4,735 Kg, and has a Spacecraft Power (EOL) of 9985 watts. In addition, the C / Ext-C Band coverage of the Nusantara Satu Satellite covers the Southeast Asia region and for Ku-Band covers the entire Indonesian region consisting of 8 Spot Beams on the HTS system.
With High Throughput Satellite (HTS) technology, it provides broadband internet services with a much larger capacity compared to conventional satellites currently available in Indonesia.
"The Nusantara Satu Satellite has a greater focus on Eastern Indonesia, as a commitment that is in line with the government to focus more on and prioritize the acceleration of development in eastern Indonesia which is considered to have great potential, but is slightly behind compared to the western islands of Indonesia," said Space System Group Head PSN, Indri Prijatmodjo.
Prof. Dr. Ing. Iskandar Alisjahbana was one of the figures behind the satellite. The eldest son of Prof. Dr. Mr. Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, he was born in Jakarta on October 20, 1931. He is a professor of Electrical Engineering at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
Having an egalitarian nature and high integrity, he was able to initiate the tele blackboard, a technology that can record handwriting on an electronic board, which can be sent to distant locations using radio or television waves, a technology that is useful for the world of education and telecommunications.
It's no wonder he's known as the Father of the Palapa Satellite Communication System. He previously earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1954, a Dipl Ing from the Technical College of Munich, West Germany in 1956, and a Doctorate from the Technical College of Darmstadt, West Germany in 1960.
From 1961 to 1963, Iskandar served as Secretary of the Department of Electrical Engineering at ITB. From 1966 to 1968, he served as Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at ITB, and later served as Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Technology at ITB (1972 to 1974) and Deputy Head of the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (1974 to 1976).
And in 1991, before he died in 2008, Isknadar and his friend Adi Rahman Adiwaso founded PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN).