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{{Short description|Indonesian geostationary communications satellites}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{About|the Indonesian satellites|Gajah Mada's historical oath|Palapa oath}}
{{Other uses}}}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
[[File:STS-41-B Palapa B-2 deployment.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|View of the Palapa-B2 satellite from [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']] after deployment on [[STS-41-B|STS-41B]] in 1984.]]

'''Palapa''' is a series of [[communications satellite]]s owned by [[Indosat]], an [[Indonesia]]n telecommunications company (formerly by [[Telkom Indonesia|Perumtel]] and then by PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia/Satelindo). The first satellite was launched in July 1976, at which time [[Indonesia]] became the first developing country to operate its own domestic satellite system.<ref name="indosat-palapa">{{cite web|title=History of Palapa Satellite|publisher=PalapaSat|url=http://www.palapasat.com/history.php|access-date=14 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429145948/http://www.palapasat.com/history.php|archive-date=29 April 2015}}</ref> The estimated cost for the project was US$1 billion (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|1000000000|1976}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=R.|title=Satellite communications: Indonesia's bitter fruit|journal=Pacific Research and World Empire Telegram |date=1976|volume=7|issue=4|pages=1–6}}</ref>{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}

== History ==
[[File:STS-51-A Palapa B-2 retrieval.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Palapa-B2, held by astronaut [[Joseph P. Allen]], during the [[STS-51-A|STS-51A]] mission.]]

The first satellite, Palapa-A1 of {{cvt|300|kg}}, was launched on 8 July 1976 at 23:31 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] from the [[Kennedy Space Center]] by a [[Delta (rocket family)|Delta 2914]] [[launch vehicle]], or at 06:31 [[Time in Indonesia|Indonesian Time]] on 9 July 1976.<ref name="journal-space">{{cite journal|title=Planning and Development of Indonesia's Domestic Communications Satellite System PALAPA |publisher=Society for Satellite Professionals International (SSPI)|journal=Online Journal of Space Communication|url=http://spacejournal.ohio.edu/issue8/his_marwah3.html|access-date=14 April 2015}}</ref> Palapa-A2 was launched on 10 March 1977.

The name "Palapa" was bestowed by then Indonesian president [[Suharto]], after the [[Palapa oath]] sworn by [[Gajah Mada]], the Prime Minister of [[Majapahit]] Kingdom, in 1334.<ref name="journal-space"/> According to the [[Pararaton]] (Book of Kings), Gajah Mada swore that he would not taste any ''palapa'' (historians suggest it refers to spice or a kind of flavouring) as long as he had not succeeded in unifying [[Nusantara (archipelago)|Nusantara]] (the Indonesian archipelago).<ref name="indosat-palapa"/> After watching the launching of the satellite via television in Jakarta, President Suharto revealed his reason on naming the satellite "palapa"; to show that Indonesia had a glorious past, and also hope that the system could unite the archipelago.<ref name="journal-space"/>

Palapa-B1 was deployed by the [[STS-7]] shuttle mission on 18 June 1983. Palapa-B2 was launched from [[STS-41-B]] on 3 February 1984, to be put into service afterward, but the perigee kick motor (also known as the [[Payload Assist Module]], or PAM) on the satellite failed during its approach to geosynchronous orbit, placing it at an improper and inoperable [[low Earth orbit]]. It was retrieved on 16 November 1984 by the [[STS-51-A|STS-51A]] mission of [[NASA]]'s [[Space Shuttle]], where it was brought back to [[Earth]]. The Space Shuttle mission to retrieve Palapa-B2, as well as the Westar-6 satellite which shared the launch [[payload]] with Palapa-B2, was partially funded by the [[insurance]] companies (led by [[Lloyd's of London]]) which insured the launch of those two satellites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theonebrief.com/seven-things-you-might-not-know-you-can-insure|title=Seven Things You Might Not Know You Can Insure|date=2 February 2017 |publisher=The One Brief, Aon|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> Palapa-B2P was launched on 20 March 1987. Palapa-B2 was renamed as Palapa-B2R and relaunched on 13 April 1990. Palapa-B4 was launched on 14 May 1992.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://space.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/QuickLooks/palapabQL.html|title=Palapa B1, B2, B2P, B2R, B4|publisher=Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA|access-date=3 May 2021}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

Palapa-C1 was launched on 1 February 1996, followed by [[Palapa-C2]] on 16 May 1996.

The [[Palapa-D]] satellite was manufactured by [[Thales Alenia Space]] and launched aboard a [[China|Chinese]] [[Long March 3B]] launch vehicle on 31 August 2009. However, it failed to reach the intended orbit following a failure of the third stage of the launch vehicle to reignite as planned. The [[Spacebus]] [[satellite bus]] was maneuvered into the correct geosynchronous orbit by September 2009, but this left it with only enough fuel for 10 years in orbit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Indonesian_Satellite_Reaches_Preset_Orbit_Despite_Skewed_Launch_999.html |title=Indonesian Satellite Reaches Preset Orbit Despite Skewed Launch|date=14 September 2009|publisher=Spacemart|access-date=14 September 2009}}</ref> This US$200 million satellite (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|200000000|2009}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}){{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}} has more [[Transponder (satellite communications)|transponders]] than its predecessors (40 transponders, Palapa-C2 only has 36). Sixteen (40%) of its transponders are used by Indosat for their own purposes while the other 24 (60%) are rented to others. Indosat used Palapa-D for their broadband internet service (IM2) with [[Ku band|Ku-band]] technology (12/14 [[Hertz|GHz]]).<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Indosat appoints Thales Alenia Space as the partner to build and launch Palapa-D satellite |url=http://www.thalesonline.com/space/Press-Room/Press-Release-search-all/Press-Release-search-result/Press-Release-Article.html?link=6e070e06-0028-720f-683e-0a391a112e48:central&locale=EN-gb&Title=Indosat+appoints+Thales+Alenia+Space+as+the+partner+to+build+and+launch+Palapa-D+satellite&dis=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703125240/http://www.thalesonline.com/space/Press-Room/Press-Release-search-all/Press-Release-search-result/Press-Release-Article.html?link=6e070e06-0028-720f-683e-0a391a112e48:central&locale=EN-gb&Title=Indosat+appoints+Thales+Alenia+Space+as+the+partner+to+build+and+launch+Palapa-D+satellite&dis=1 |archive-date=3 July 2007 |publisher=Thales Alenia Space |date=29 June 2007 |access-date=20 May 2025}}</ref> At the end of October 2009, Palapa D started its airing operations.

== Lighthouse project ==
The Palapa project was one of the "[[Lighthouse projects (Indonesia)|Lighthouse projects]]" instituted during the [[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]] period to build national pride. Other lighthouse projects during the New Order included transport infrastructure, the [[Taman Mini Indonesia Indah]] theme park and the country's [[Indonesian Aerospace|national aircraft company]]. Most of these involved extravagant inauguration ceremonies with the officials who oversaw the projects in the spotlight. At the inauguration ceremony of the Palapa satellite system, President Suharto used a switch with 17 jewels (17 August is the date of Indonesia's [[Proclamation of Indonesian Independence|Proclamation of Independence]]) in the shape of a traditional dagger ([[kris]]). Besides symbolizing national unity and concretely helping to unite the country by serving its purpose as communication infrastructure, the satellite also tied advanced technology to Javanese tradition as epitomized by the inauguration ceremony.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Barker|first1=Joshua|title=Engineers and Political Dreams: Indonesia in the Satellite Age|journal=Current Anthropology|date=December 2005|volume=46|issue=5|pages=703–727|doi=10.1086/432652|s2cid=149575825 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{Portal-inline|Spaceflight}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/palapa-b.htm Palapa B1, B2, B2P, B2R, B4 / Palapa Pacific / Agila 0 / NewSat 1]—Gunter's Space Page
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071109154432/http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/factsheets/376/palapa_a/palapa_a.html Palapa-A] at Boeing
* [http://www.lyngsat.com/palapac2.html Palapa-C2 at Lyngsat]
* [http://www.lyngsat.com/palapad.html Palapa-D at Lyngsat]
 
{{Indonesian Space Program|state=open}}

[[Category:1976 establishments in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Communications in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Communications satellites]]
[[Category:Space program of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Gajah Mada]]