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BRICS: What is in a name for Indian and Indonesian space activities?

The two countries’ space programs have not been very connected in the past decade.

Ridha Aditya Nugraha and Adithya Variath (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta/Oxford, United Kingdom
Fri, January 24, 2025

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BRICS: What is in a name for Indian and Indonesian space activities? Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ahead of the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Sept. 9, 2023. (AFP/Evan Vucci/Pool)

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ndonesia was recently accepted as a full member of BRICS. Strengthening cooperation in the so-called Global South and local currencies were the main purpose. How such a concept will be implemented by Indonesia seems to need time to answer. The world at least needs to wait for the next BRICS Summit in July. Realization is still a big question.

Following Trump's inauguration, tariff threats and capital outflow have made headlines. BRICS member states, including Indonesia, will face the potential impacts. Another discussion is importing Russian oil. As many focus on these matters, some issues are left unspoken. One of the underrepresented discussions is on the potential for collaboration in space activities among BRICS member states.

Alongside China with its low-earth orbit (LEO), independent space station and lunar exploration programs, both India and Indonesia are slowly rising to become two major players in Asia with their rapid advances in space technology. However, these two countries’ space programs have not been much connected in the past decade.

The last three years have been phenomenal for both nations with SATRIA revolutionizing internet connectivity in Indonesia and India celebrating its soft landing on the moon with Chandrayaan-3, an achievement based on needs but that could be further improved. What is clear is that outer space as a sector often demands high investments in building substantial infrastructure, human resources and technology transfer for scientific research.

In this context, the potential collaboration between India and Indonesia should go beyond conventional shared innovation and satellite launches. The two-decade-old relationship between both nations also has geopolitical implications, with both states aiming to present innovative solutions to domestic and regional challenges.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) signed an Implementation Agreement on the Transfer of Title of Integrated Biak Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TTC) Facilities with an implementing agreement signed on March 19, 2024, in Jakarta. Following the signing of the Inter-Governmental Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's May 2018 visit to Indonesia, this legal framework represents a significant turning point in the development of bilateral cooperation between India and Indonesia.

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On that occasion, the Indian ambassador said India's space industry was currently booming and active. India's first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, is moving quickly towards completion in 2025. The ambassador acknowledged India's accomplishment in launching mini-satellites and praised Indonesia's progress in space communications, both in the public and private sectors.

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