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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001008 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS PARM PREL EINV ID RS
SUBJECT: INDONESIA: AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR PAPUA SPACE LAUNCH 
FACILITY 
 
JAKARTA 00001008  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Government of Indonesia (GOI) officials 
confirmed to us during a March 13 meeting that plans for a 
joint Indonesian-Russian satellite launch facility in Papua 
are well underway.  The Governments of Indonesia and Russia 
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in December 2006, 
to formalize the partnership.  Since then, the partners have 
made modest progress toward developing a facility on isolated 
Biak Island off the northeast coast of Papua province.  A 
Russian aerospace company is slated to provide much of the 
equipment and technical expertise.  The Biak facility plans 
to capitalize on its equatorial position and the proposed use 
of "air launch" satellite delivery technology to make it 
highly cost competitive, according to GOI sources.  GOI space 
officials say they will abide by the Missile Technology 
Control Regime even though Indonesia is not a signatory to 
the treaty.  Despite its commercial potential, the project 
faces considerable technological and operating challenges as 
well as potential resistance from the local populace.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) In December 2005, on the margins of the ASEAN Business 
Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang 
Yudhoyono and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to 
develop a satellite and commercial rocket launch facility in 
Biak, Papua.  This was followed by the signing of a 
Memorandum of Understanding between the two presidents during 
President Yudhoyono's visit to Russia in December 2006. 
 
Biak's Strategic Location Could Lower Costs 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The two governments chose the island of Biak as a 
potential launch facility because of its strategic location. 
Located in the northeastern corner of Indonesia in Papua 
province, Biak's location at 1 degree 11 minutes south 
latitude means that launch vehicles should be able to use 
less fuel, and carry more cargo, because of the maximized 
velocity of the Earth's rotation (460 meters per second) near 
the equator.  This cost advantage would be especially true 
for satellites going into geostationary or equatorial orbits. 
 In addition, Biak has nothing but the Pacific Ocean for 
hundreds of miles to the east and north of the island.  If an 
accident occurred during a launch, the launch vehicle (and 
any debris) would simply fall into the water.  Finally, the 
island has some infrastructure already in place, such as an 
airport with an adequate runway and a rocket/satellite 
tracking facility. 
 
¶4. (U) A Russian company, Air Launch Aerospace Corporation 
(ALAC) agreed to partner with the Indonesian company PT Air 
Launch Aerospace Indonesia (ALAI).  The proposed method for 
launch will be the untried, but potentially economical "air 
launch" process.  ALAC plans to use a 120-ton Polyot rocket 
combined with an Antonov An-124-100AL "Condor" heavy cargo 
transport, a large commercial airplane rivaling Lockheed's 
C-5 "Galaxy" in size.  The An-124-100AL requires a runway of 
at least 3,000 meters and the military airport on Biak has a 
runway that is just over that requirement at 3,570 meters. 
The plan is for the Antonov launch airplane to take off from 
Biak heading to a point north of the island closer to the 
equator.  At an altitude of 11,000 feet it would then drop 
the rocket out of its back loading door.  Seconds later, the 
rocket's parachute would open to orient it to the vertical 
launch position and the rocket engines would fire, sending 
the satellite through the upper atmosphere and into orbit. 
 
¶5. (U) Although complex, similar launch operations have been 
successful in the United States.  Orbital's "Pegasus" air 
launch program has already placed dozens of satellites into 
orbit and claims a flawless record since 1996.  The key 
difference between the two systems is that for Pegasus, the 
launch vehicle is attached to the bottom of the aircraft and 
simply dropped at launch, while ALAC's system would have the 
rocket placed inside the aircraft before its launch.  ALAC 
has claimed success with testing their launch vehicles, but 
to date, has placed no satellites into orbit. 
 
Land Allocated; Infrastructure Growing 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
JAKARTA 00001008  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶6. (U) According to press reports, preparations for the 
launch facility are already underway.  The Biak Regency 
government has reportedly set aside 27 hectares of land for 
the project, and in February 2006, Anatoly Karpov, president 
of ALAC, told reporters that his company planned to invest 
$25 million for construction of the launch facilities. 
Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of Central 
and East Europe Hazairin Pohan told the press in December 
2005 that the project would cost between $120-130 million. 
Also, according to local press, construction is expected to 
begin this year with a mission-control facility and other 
supporting facilities. 
 
¶7. (SBU) On March 13, we met with Indonesian National 
Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) Chairman Dr. Adi 
Sadewo Salatun.  He stated that the Biak station already has 
a functioning telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) facility 
available for this project and that the partnership is 
currently finishing a liquid oxygen (LOX)/kerosene fueling 
facility.  He encouraged the U.S. to participate in 
Indonesia's space program and use Biak's available facilities. 
 
Russians Could Gain New Foothold in Launch Market 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶8. (U) The Indonesian weekly GATRA in its February 18, 2006 
edition reported Karpov as saying that their air launch 
system would be four times cheaper than launching from sea 
and ten times cheaper than the standard land-launch systems 
in place.  ALAC will specialize in smaller satellites of up 
to four tons, Karpov said.  The Biak facility would be the 
third equatorial launch facility for Russian aerospace.  RSC 
Energia is a partner in the Sea Launch program with Boeing 
and others.  And, in partnership with France and the European 
Space Agency (ESA), Russia began construction of a Soyuz 
launch facility in Korou, French Guiana last year.  The first 
Soyuz launch from this location is scheduled for the second 
half of 2008. 
 
Indonesia Seeking Aerospace Credibility 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) For its part, Indonesia hopes developing a successful 
launch facility in Biak will enable it to showcase its 
ability to place small satellites into orbit at a relatively 
low cost.  Indonesia and its neighboring countries continue 
to investigate satellite technology as a potential answer for 
their communications, environmental monitoring and 
weather-forecasting needs.  In January, the Indian Space 
Research Organization (ISRO) launched the first 
Indonesian-built satellite into orbit.  LAPAN was able to 
negotiate use of the ISRO launcher thanks in part to the fact 
that ISRO already uses the facility in Biak to track its own 
satellites.  In addition, other nations may see the low costs 
as an opportunity for launching from Indonesia.  According to 
local press, LAPAN's Secretary General Wisjnu Permana Marsis 
stated that China, Japan and the United States had all shown 
interest in the project.  However, Marsis said Russia gave 
the most competitive offer. 
 
¶10. (U) Indonesia is not a member of the Missile Technology 
Control Regime (MTCR).  In our meeting with LAPAN, Marsis 
told us that the GOI would "indirectly abide" by the MTCR 
regulations, since Russia is a signatory.  Marsis did not 
give us any specifics on how the GOI will address this issue. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment:  For a company looking for a market niche 
in which to compete against other global corporations, Biak's 
favorable location coupled with the low-cost air launch 
method could present an opportunity for the Russian space 
industry to gain a foothold in the small and micro satellite 
market.  However, the project faces several challenges to 
making it a reality.  First, the project uses an untried 
launch system--no company has yet placed a satellite in orbit 
by carrying it inside and then dropping it out of the back of 
a large transport plane.  Second, the GOI is highly dependent 
on their Russian partners and their technology.  Should 
problems develop, Indonesia does not have the capacity to 
move the project forward alone.  Finally, doing business in 
Papua comes with its own unique risks.  Papua continues to 
 
JAKARTA 00001008  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
grapple with corruption, land rights disputes, and a restive 
independence movement.  All these issues have led the few 
foreign investors who have braved Papua to proceed with 
caution. 
 
HEFFERN