Chinese Long March 3B rocket launches the Nusantara Dua satellite

Apr 15, 2020 | Spacecraft

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Pasifik Satelit Nusantara. CREDIT: Jakarta Globe
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CREDIT: Pasifik Satelit Nusantara.

On Thursday, April 9th, 2020, at 11:46 UTC, a Chinese Long March 3B rocket launched the Nusantara Dua satellite.

Unfortunately, the Indonesian satellite did not make it to orbit. Adi Rahman Adiwoso, the managing director of Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, stated that one of the engines on the third stage failed to start so there wasn’t enough thrust to get the satellite into its transfer orbit.  Instead, Nusantara Dua crashed into the ocean.

The satellite was insured and will eventually be replaced.

Unfortunately, this was a replacement for another aging Indonesian communications satellite.  The old satellite is scheduled to be decommissioned by the end of July 2020 — about three months from now.  According to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Johnny G. Plate, the Indonesian government is working with local satellite operators to ensure consumers do not experience an interruption of radio and television broadcasts.

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Debris photo. CREDIT: a Weibo user, via @Launch Stuff on @Twitter

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