Blast off: Space minnow Indonesia eyes celestial success – Saudi Gazette

Blast off: Space minnow Indonesia eyes celestial success – Saudi Gazette

It's a long way from a Mission Control in Houston, but the Southeast Asian archipelago's answer to NASA has big hopes and is now planning to build its first spaceport on a tropical island off the coast of easternmost Papua.. There is resurgent international interest in space travel and colonization, with NASA planning to send two astronauts to the moon by 2024, some 55 years after their last mission there.. SpaceX, a private US firm launched by Tesla chief Elon Musk, has said its first crewed flight will launch in the first half of this year, while Virgin Galactic plans a series of missions in the next three years.. Back at the launch site on East Java, Lapan's scientists were gauging the tiny test rocket's speed, movement and other specifications.". In November, Indonesia finally confirmed plans to construct its first spaceport off the coast of Papua, acknowledging that its existing launch site is too risky for large rocket launches because it is too small and in a densely populated area.. An Indonesian astronaut could boost (its) space profile internationally," said Phil Smith, an analyst at US-based Bryce Space and Technology..