Indonesia wants to build cutting-edge spaceport but faces obstacles

Jakarta, Indonesia

Indonesia aims to launch 19 satellites into low Earth orbit next year, part of an ambitious plan to put the country at the forefront of the growing global space industry and reduce its reliance on other countries for satellite data.

The larger program, known as Space Map 2045, is expected to begin next year. Authorities hope to boost Indonesia's economy and spur foreign direct investment by taking advantage of its unique geography as a near-equatorial, fuel-efficient launch point for space travel and research.

While the satellite launches would support key economic sectors such as agriculture and mining with remote sensing technology to track weather conditions, mining emissions and mineral-rich areas, the long-term plan includes the development of a state-of-the-art spaceport to reduce dependence on foreigners. launch sites.

But according to officials at BRIN, Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency, there is still no confirmation as to which company or government agencies are responsible for the wave of launches planned for 2025.

The main constraint was the government's financial planning and budget cuts. We also could not convince foreign investment partners to join the development of the spaceport because it is a high-tech project and high cost, said Thomas Djamalludin, a researcher at BRIN.

Starlink, SpaceX and Elon Musk

Jakarta has relied on Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch its satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida, since 2019, and the billionaire entrepreneur last month launched a Starlink internet services satellite directly from Bali.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has repeatedly invited Musk to use the island of Biak in Papua province as Starlink's main launch site, sparking outrage from locals who say development of the island as a spaceport would devastate its fragile ecology.

Although Biak has an airstrip, military base, deep-water seaport and ground stations, the 500 hectares (1.9 square miles) of government-owned land suitable for spaceport would require foreign investment to cover the preliminary $613 million required to build the initial phase. of the project. The total cost depends on what additional facilities investors want to build at the spaceport.

Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investments, said Starlink was considering the offer but there were no immediate plans to collaborate.

According to BRIN’s Djamalludin, China, which dominates Indonesia’s 5G market and is poised to become the country’s largest foreign investor, has expressed interest. However, a disastrous rocket launch in April 2020 that destroyed Indonesia’s $220 million Nusantara-2 satellite has complicated Jakarta’s relationship with state-owned China Great Wall Industry Corporation.

Beijing has since scaled back its financial interests, declaring the Biak site too remote, while Jakarta has stepped up efforts to woo SpaceX for upcoming launches, deeming the company more reliable, offering more time slots and less reusable rockets. expensive.

Saribua Siahaan, director of investment promotion at the Indonesia Investment Coordination Board, told VOA that Jakarta continues to offer financial incentives, as well as an easy investment approval process for public-private partnerships.

No takers in 2023

As recently as 2023, BRIN officials promoted their spaceport plans at the G20 Space Economy Leaders Meeting and the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum. China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and India were invited to become potential partners, but none signed on.

Although the 2013 space law has been in force for almost a decade, [Indonesias] The government has not yet finalized the implementation of regulations for space commercialization and spaceport development, Indonesian space law specialists Ridha Aditya Nugraha and Yaries Mahardika Putro said in a recent statement. Jakarta Post opinion piece.

Indonesia was the first ASEAN country to implement national space legislation. The Space Act of 2013 provides a legal framework for outer space and lays the foundation for the growth of the space industry.

Foreign direct investments in space activities provide legal certainty likely to attract investors. However, over the past decade, no regulations have been implemented, making it difficult for relevant ministries to make Indonesia a country with space activities.

This problem must be addressed immediately if Indonesia is serious about making space a revenue center and the engine of the economy in the future, the editorial said.