100 Years with Bosscha Observatory: Hope for National Research on Nanosatellites
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – The General Directorate of Postage and Informatics Resource from Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Information, Dr. Ir. Ismail, M.T., voiced that Bosscha Observatory is a modern observatory in Indonesia, serving as a place of astronomy and astrophysics research at both national and international stages.
The Ministry of Communication and Information welcomes space research, believing in the plan for a national digital transformation. One is the availability of telecommunication infrastructure to reach remote areas in Indonesia. Indonesia's telecommunication infrastructure cannot be fulfilled by relying only on optical cables; satellites need to be complemented as an effective medium to contact remote areas.
According to Dr. Ismail, satellites have tremendous potential to provide connections and communications between humans, especially for the archipelagic country that is Indonesia. Indonesia itself has owned a satellite since 1976. Looking at the history and national demands, understanding the space industry is crucial.
Indonesia is one of the countries with huge satellite bandwidth consumption. Thus, research on satellite capacity is now more critical than ever with multiple parties' endeavors and new technologies' emergence. "We, from the Ministry of Communication and Infrastructure, hope that the research at Bosscha Observatory can inspire the curiosity of our people to start thinking about sustainable research on satellites."
Indonesia recently launched its newest satellite- a nanosatellite smaller than most conventional satellites. Albeit its size, its performance and capability are on the same level as other existing ones. Its demand and development will increase with time, with many researchers designing them independently.
Dr. Ismail hopes that Indonesia can study nanosatellites directly in the future and assign Bosscha Observatory as the center of astronomy and satellite development.
One form of support from the Ministry of Communication and Information in the collaborative development of astronomy is an observation plan of astronomy events, such as the date settlement of 1 Ramadhan and the eclipse chart. "Through Bosscha Observatory, we were able to carry out many activities in the satellite industry and observe space objects," Dr. Ismail conveyed his appreciation.
Reporter: Ruth Nathania (Environmental Engineering, 2019)
Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)
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