SpaceX Falcon 9 | Indonesian Telecom Satellite Mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Merah Putih communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in Florida early Tuesday morning, August 7, 2018, for PT Telkom Indonesia, Indonesia's largest telecom operator. This was the first successful reuse of a Block 5—the first stage booster of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that is designed to be reused many times. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage, which previously flew on the first Block 5 mission in May 2018, landed on SpaceX's “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Merah Putih satellite was deployed approximately 32 minutes after liftoff into its targeted Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). Merah Putih stands for the red and white colors of the Indonesian flag. The Indonesian satellite will have 60 active transponders—48 C-band transponders and 12 extended C-band transponders—that will cover South Asia and Southeast Asia, respectively. The satellite has an SSL 1300 modular platform with a designed lifespan of 15 or more years. The satellite was manufactured by California-based aerospace company SSL, a division of Maxar Technologies, (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates).

Image Credit: SpaceX
Location: Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States
Image Date: August 7, 2018

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