SpaceX to launch Indonesian communications satellite tv for pc from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now

Update Sept. 8, 6:42 p.m. EDT: SpaceX pushed again the T-0 liftoff time.

An Indonesian firm is seeking to enhance its space-based communications service with a state-of-the-art Boeing-built satellite tv for pc sure for geostationary orbit.

The spacecraft comes from Satelit Nusantara Lima (SNL), a subsidiary of Indonesia’s first non-public satellite tv for pc firm, Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN). The satellite tv for pc itself is named Nusantara Lima or N5 for brief.

The identify is derived from the Old Javanese language phrases nūsa, “island”, and antara “outer.” Lima, in the meantime, means “five” in Indonesian.

SpaceX is concentrating on the liftoff of the N5 satellite tv for pc from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:32 p.m. EDT (0032 UTC). This is the opening of a 116-minute window.

Spaceflight Now can have reside protection of the mission starting about an hour previous to liftoff.



On Sunday, the forty fifth Weather Squadron forecast a 30 p.c probability for favorable climate on the opening of the launch window, which improves to 45 p.c because the window progresses. Meteorologists mentioned to anticipate a “high likelihood of showers and storms,” which incorporates “the overnight and morning hours.”

“Deep atmospheric moisture will remain entrenched across Florida into early next week,” launch climate officers wrote. “At the surface, a weak boundary will oscillate across Central Florida before being replaced by a stronger incoming front by the middle of next week. Troughing over the Great Lakes States extending southward into the Gulf is also contributing to a rather messy weather pattern.”

SpaceX will launch the N5 satellite tv for pc utilizing its Falcon 9 rocket with a veteran first stage booster: B1078. This would be the booster’s twenty third flight, following quite a lot of missions, together with NASA’s Crew-6, USSF-124 and ASTSpaceCell’s BlueBird 1-5 satellites.

After boosting the rocket out of the decrease environment, B1078 will head for a touchdown on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ within the Atlantic Ocean. A profitable touchdown would symbolize the 124th restoration for that vessel and 502nd booster touchdown thus far for SpaceX.

Improving connectivity

The N5 satellite tv for pc was constructed on Boeing Space Systems’ 702MP VHTS (Very High Throughput Satellite) bus and is designed to supply a capability of 160 Gbps with its 101 Ka-band spot beam. It’s constructed to have a higher than 15-year working life.

The spacecraft is predicted to deploy from the Falcon 9’s higher stage greater than 27 minutes after liftoff. A Boeing spokesperson mentioned sign acquisition is predicted about 15-Half-hour after separation.

N5 ought to attain its working orbit at 113 levels East over the Equator someday round mid-January with service anticipated to start in early 2026.

“Boeing’s satellite business has a rich history of serving Indonesia and the Asia Pacific region, dating back to the Palapa A1 satellite in 1976,” mentioned Ryan Reid, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International in an announcement. “With Nusantara Lima, we’re proud to continue that legacy, delivering a reliable, high-throughput solution tailored to Indonesia’s unique geography and connectivity needs. PSN has been an outstanding partner throughout this program.”

The N5 satellite tv for pc was introduced in 2022 as a relay station designed to enhance the potential of the Satria-1, which launched in June 2023. N5 was additionally initially purported to launch in 2023, nevertheless it was delayed.

Spaceflight Now reached out to PSN relating to the delay, however didn’t hear again earlier than publication.

The satellite tv for pc is constructed on the identical Boeing-built bus used on Intelsat’s IS-33e spacecraft, which suffered an anomaly on Oct. 19, 2024, ensuing within the “total loss” of the spacecraft, which fragmented into dozens of items. The satellite tv for pc was launched in August 2016 and entered service in January 2017.

The root explanation for the anomaly was not introduced publicly.