Elon Musk’s company SpaceX and Indonesia have launched a satellite from the United States aimed at bringing high-speed internet to remote areas across the sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.
Over a third of Indonesia’s population do not have access to the web, especially in far-flung areas of the world’s fourth most populous country.
The European-built SATRIA-1 took off early Monday Indonesia time from a Florida launch station, deployed by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
“SpaceX launched the PSN SATRIA mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida,” the firm wrote on its website.
The satellite — built by French defence electronics company Thales — cost $540 million and Jakarta hopes it will connect 90,000 schools, 40,000 hospitals, and government buildings.
Indonesian President…
