TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsRussia, India show interest in Indonesia’s Biak spaceport project
Biak was selected for its proximity to the equator and its direct access to the Pacific Ocean, allowing first-stage rocket boosters to safely fall into open waters after launch.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara chief executive officer Adi Rahman Adiwoso (left) speaks on May 12, 2026, with Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid (right) during the launch ceremony for the Nusantara 5 (N5) satellite operations in Jakarta.
(Courtesy of/PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara)
I
ndonesia is stepping up plans to build a spaceport on Biak, Papua, with interest emerging from Russia, India and Turkey as Southeast Asia’s largest economy seeks to position itself as an equatorial satellite launch hub.
Biak was selected for its proximity to the equator and its direct access to the Pacific Ocean, allowing first-stage rocket boosters to safely fall into open waters after launch.
According to satellite operator PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), Biak’s location, roughly one degree south of the equator, could improve launch efficiency by 15 percent to 20 percent compared with major launch centers such as Cape Canaveral in the United States.
“The head of state has announced that the spaceport will be located in Biak. The spaceport will be provided for international access,” PSN chief executive officer Adi Rahman Adiwoso on Tuesday, as quoted by Kontan.
Read also: Indonesia set to launch satellite this month from Cape Canaveral
Indonesia has begun discussions with Russia as well as firms from Turkey and India regarding development of the facility, he added.
The Biak project forms part of the country’s broader push to strengthen its domestic space and satellite capabilities as demand rises globally for communications, earth observation and low-orbit satellite services.
