Biak in Papua: Indonesia’s Space Gateway 2045
- Jul 13
- 5 min read
Every day, satellites quietly cross Indonesian skies, carrying internet signals, TV broadcasts, weather forecasts, and guidance for ships.
In the vision of Golden Indonesia 2045, future infrastructure is no longer just toll roads and ports, and the 2025–2045 National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN) frames this vision as building an Indonesia that is united, sovereign, advanced, and sustainable [1].
But sovereignty is increasingly tied to the ability to manage satellite data independently. The problem is that the satellites Indonesia relies on still launch from rockets and spaceports owned by other countries. Indonesia is a user but not yet an owner of launch infrastructure. Could that change?
The World Economic Forum (WEF) and McKinsey project the global space economy reaching US$ 1.8 trillion by 2035, up from US$ 630 billion in 2023 [2].
For an archipelagic nation like Indonesia, demand cuts across nearly every sector: telecommunications, maritime logistics, disaster management for reading floods and quakes faster, agriculture for monitoring land and crop failure, energy, mining and forestry for tracking assets and deforestation, local governments for spatial planning, and defense for secure communication, border surveillance, and maritime domain awareness.
That breadth makes the space sector a prerequisite for other agendas, in line with Golden Indonesia 2045.
The space economy is not just about rockets. Its value chain runs three layers deep: upstream (satellites, rockets, launch facilities), midstream (ground stations, telemetry), and downstream (data for telecoms, navigation, remote sensing, agriculture, logistics, energy, and defense); flowing every time that data feeds a business, security, or policy decision.
For example, China offers an instructive comparison, having built its own satellite network so its geospatial data no longer depends on foreign providers like the United States. This prompts a similar question for Indonesia: does it need that same capacity? For a sector touching defense and surveillance, depending on another country’s data and launch capability is a sovereignty matter, not merely technical, and this is what makes the sector relevant to Indonesia’s 2045 ambitions.
The Equator Advantage for Space Sector Prospect
A location near the equator offers a real physics advantage. Earth’s rotational speed is highest here, giving an extra boost through the slingshot effect, making launches more fuel-efficient, especially toward geostationary orbit. French Guiana was long used by Arianespace as a world-class launch site for that reason, its equatorial position facing open ocean [3].
Indonesia’s equatorial line, stretching more than 5,000 kilometers, offers a similar advantage, though it only becomes economically meaningful with adequate infrastructure and regulation.
Biak in Papua has long been cited as the strongest candidate, close to the equator and facing the Pacific. Indonesia’s Cabinet Secretariat notes LAPAN once designated Biak for the country’s first planned spaceport, with roughly 100 hectares in Saukobye, North Biak, about 1 degree from the equator [4].
A launch site needs a safe flight corridor to the open ocean, distance from settlements, and port and airport access, and Biak meets nearly all these criteria. Done well, it could bring investment, technical jobs, and STEM education to a region long on the margins of the national economy, aligned with the equity agenda of Golden Indonesia 2045 [1].
From Ambition to Ecosystem
The ambition to build a domestic spaceport is not new. Indonesia already has the legal foundation through Law No. 21/2013 on Space Activities and Presidential Regulation No. 45/2017 on the 2016-2040 Space Master Plan [5]. But ambition and execution remain different things. This costly, high-risk project needs long-term political commitment, cross-agency coordination, and local acceptance.
On the business side, satellite launching resembles running an airport. An operator does not need to own a rocket to generate revenue, with income from leasing the launch pad, hangars, payload processing, tracking and telemetry services, and long-term leases for rocket companies, following the multi-tenant model used by commercial spaceports worldwide [6]. The more realistic layer to develop first is ground infrastructure, stations, and data centers, a bridge before Indonesia moves into full orbital launch capacity.
The ecosystem needed spans those same three layers. At the government level, Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is likely the main actor for research and space mandates, backed by aviation, maritime, telecommunications, and defense agencies. Commercially, this takes launch firms, satellite operators, contractors, data centers, insurers, and universities. PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. (TLKM), through Telkomsat, has partnered with Starlink since 2021 and expanded enterprise services in 2024 [7], evidence that Indonesia already has downstream players.
Collaboration with SpaceX is not impossible, but should be seen realistically; do not expect a launch pad here soon. A more sensible start lies in satellite services, ground infrastructure, and feasibility studies. Indonesia should not depend on one company, since collaboration is open with Europe, India, Japan, and Korea too.
Cost, Challenges, and the Road Ahead
Building a spaceport is not cheap. It needs a launch pad, safety zones, road-port-airport access, power, radar, and emergency response systems. Academic research puts the estimated budget between IDR 1 trillion and 10 trillion, depending on facility type [5]. A phased approach makes more sense: ground stations and data services first, then test facilities and small launches, before full orbital capacity once demand matures.
The challenges do not stop at funding. Safety cannot be compromised given the risk of explosions and disruption to air and sea corridors. Local acceptance in Papua, including customary land rights and benefit sharing, must be a priority, alongside licensing rules and international cooperation. The biggest risk is not just failing to build a spaceport, but staying a passive user dependent on other countries’ launches and data, as the China comparison makes clear. That dependence needs managing now.
Indonesia does not need to become the next SpaceX to share in the space economy’s growth. A more realistic path is becoming an infrastructure hub along the equator, while strengthening geospatial data independence for sovereignty and territorial defense, in line with Golden Indonesia 2045 [1]. The real question is no longer whether Indonesia has a geographic advantage, but whether it can build an ecosystem that is commercially viable, operationally safe, and sovereign over its own data.
References
[1] Kementerian PPN/Bappenas, RPJPN 2025-2045 / Indonesia Emas 2045. https://indonesia2045.go.id/
[2] World Economic Forum & McKinsey, Space: The US$ 1.8 Trillion Opportunity for Global Economic Growth, 2024. https://www.weforum.org/publications/space-the-1-8-trillion-opportunity-for-global-economic-growth/
[3] Arianespace, The Guiana Space Center: A World-Class Launch Site. https://www.arianespace.com/the-guiana-space-center/
[4] Sekretariat Kabinet RI, Gagasan Pembangunan Bandar Antariksa di Indonesia, 2022. https://setkab.go.id/gagasan-pembangunan-bandar-antariksa-di-indonesia/
[5] Johni R.V. Korwa et al., Indonesia’s First Spaceport Plan in Biak Island: A View from International Relations, Jurnal Hubungan Internasional, 2024. https://journal.umy.ac.id/index.php/jhi/article/view/18563/
[6] Spaceport America, Business Plan 2016–2020. https://www.spaceportamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/bizplan-2016-2020.pdf
[7] Telkom Indonesia, Telkomsat dan Starlink Tandatangani Kerja Sama Layanan Segmen Enterprise di Indonesia, 2024. https://www.telkom.co.id/sites/berita/id_ID/news/telkomsat-dan-starlink-tandatangani-kerja-sama-layanan-segmen-enterprise-di-indonesia-2351/
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