{"id":92,"date":"2026-04-23T05:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ascensiorecta.com\/?p=92"},"modified":"2026-04-23T05:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:55:08","slug":"the-satellite-that-started-it-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ascensiorecta.com\/?p=92","title":{"rendered":"The Satellite That Started it All"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LAPAN-Tubsat and the beginning of Indonesia’s journey into satellite making<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that Indonesia can actually build its own satellite?<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It all began in 2003, when engineers from LAPAN (now BRIN ORPA) and the Chair of Space Technology at TU Berlin working together to create something Indonesia had never made before: A satellite that would fly in space.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piece by piece, subsystem by subsystem, they began assembling: a satellite that could survive launch, communicate with Earth, and orbit the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four years later, on 10 January 2007<\/strong>, that dream finally rose off the ground\u2014straight into orbit 630 kilometers above Earth<\/strong>. A microsatellite, carefully built through years of learning and collaboration, hitched a ride on India\u2019s PSLV-C07 rocket and blasted off from the Sriharikota<\/strong> launch site in India<\/strong>. In that moment, Indonesia didnt just send a machine into orbit; it sent a message: “we can do this”<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From circuits and code to orbit and signal\u2014LAPAN-Tubsat turned engineering into reality<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Let’s open it up a bit-<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

at first glance, LAPAN-TUBSAT might look like just a simple box. But inside, it’s carefully organized. The satellite is split into two main sections: upper shelf and lower shelf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the lower shelf, you will find:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • ACS (Attitude Control System) : the satellite’s sense of direction, to know where its pointing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • TTC (Telemetry, Tracking and Command) : how satellite communicate with the ground stations<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Camera payload : its ‘eyes’ to capture the Earth<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sband : to send data (like images) to the ground<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    In the Upper Shelf, you will find:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Battery : stores the energy so the satellites keeps running even in eclipse<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Power control : distribute energy to every component<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • PCDH (Power Control and Data Handling): basically, the satellite’s brain<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Air coil : a device that interact with earth magnetic field to control the satellite orientation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      And what did this satellite actually see up there?\u2028<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      One of its early image results was the LAPAN-Tubsat capture of the shipyard in Surabaya<\/strong>, taken in 2008\u2014a clear, detailed look structures from 630 km above Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Hardhienata, Soewarto & Triharjanto, Robertus & Mukhayadi, M.. (2011). Presented at the 18th Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum LAPAN-A2 : Indonesian Near-Equatorial Surveilance Satellite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Even earlier, in 2007, the satellite recorded video image over Singapore<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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