Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

I have been working in the area of space activities, particularly remote sensing technology and applications since 1990s. In 1988, I began my career as a scientists or researcher in the remote sensing. At that time, Indonesia was just not trying to promote or to enhance our space technology development, but also we started, at the same time, in parallel, the application area. So, we didn’t just follow the enhancement of the space technology, but also, for example, satellite data processing and so forth.

In September 2021, Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) and other several research institutions of Indonesia were merged into one big organization, namely BRIN, the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia. I was the Executive Secretary of LAPAN and appointed as the head of research of aeronautics and space.

Space program is not only related to research and innovations but to many other activities including space policies, international collaborations, data management, and many other fields. In addition, Indonesia has been a member of various international organizations, under United Nations (UN) or non-UN. So former members of LAPAN proposed to the Chairman of BRIN that Indonesia has to continue the commitment to be active in those international organizations or forums and we should establish a kind of a unit under BRIN to deal with these international space affairs. The Chairman then established INASA. The legal basis also had to be arranged. So, INASA is not only to continue Indonesia’s engagement with international space organizations, but also to coordinate the implementation of for international relations. Some other colleagues from former LAPAN and I were nominated as focal points to the international organizations including APRSAF, UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), ASEAN’s Sub-Committee on Space Technology and Applications (ASEAN SCOSA), many others.

Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

As I said, BRIN is an agency which was established by merging several institutions such as Ministry of Research and Technology, LAPAN National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN), Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), and Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), etc. BRIN has the mandate from three national laws including Indonesian Space Law.

The mission of BRIN is to provide technical and administrative supports and fast, accurate and responsive analysis to the President and Vice President in conducting research, development, studies and application, as well as inventions and innovations, organization of integrated nuclear energy and outer space operations nationally and monitor control and evaluation of the performance of BRIDA's (Regional Research and Innovation Agency) duties and functions. Our mission is also to improve the quality of human resources and infrastructure for research and innovation in the organization of integrated nuclear energy and outer space operations nationally and foster the performance of BRIDA’s duties and functions and to organize effective and efficient services in the fields of supervision, general administration, information, and institutional relations.

Our mission is also to establish the policy in the research and innovations and to develop and build the facilities, infrastructure and programs. And also the funding for research and innovation, not only for BRIN, but also for the universities and many other institutions, including local governments, private entities as well. So, it's not limited to providing the support to BRIN’s facilities, infrastructures, and program or to funding government institutions, but also the private entities and universities, and academic. This is a national research program, not only for BRIN. The researchers can use our facilities by submitting their proposals or in collaborations with BRIN’s research team.

Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

Collaborations with other area of research at the national level are promoting and encouraging our activities under BRIN. We have bigger capacity and opportunities, better and stronger collaborations. For example, in the area of space research and innovation, now it's not conducted only by former LAPAN engineers but we also have some colleagues from former BPPT, and from universities as well. So now, under BRIN, we can leverage and improve our collaborations, for example, satellite development or data processing. We can accelerate our achievement and enhance our output. The challenge is that BRIN is a quite big organizations, a huge organization.

Our area of research and innovation activities is broad, but as mandated from our National Space Act or National Space Law, it is BRIN’s responsibility to conduct and coordinate our national space program. We continue what already achieved by LAPAN but with bigger resources, hopefully with bigger energy and many improvements. In addition, that the chairman of BRIN is at the ministerial level, so the position is higher than the chairman of former LAPAN. So, we now have the bigger authority, the bigger resources, and the bigger energy.

BRIN is also mandated to establish other aspects of space activities, not just research and innovations, including space policy, space law and regulations.

Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

We announced to have APRSAF annual meeting in Indonesia at APRSAF-25 in 2018. We continued our confirmation at APRSAF-26 in Nagoya in 2019. But unfortunately we experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. We were supposed to co-organize APRSAF meeting in Indonesia in 2021 and we requested to postpone our meeting until 2023. This is because that we organized the Ministerial Conference of United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in 2022.

Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

For our future space activities, the youth is important and, I think, it has become common issue in our community in the region and globally discussed in the UNCOPUOS sessions. UNESCAP’s Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development (RESAP) commits to promote the youth in the space activities for the future. So, I thought it would be very good to have this program at APRSAF meeting.

And regarding the space for education, it is not just how to educate the young people to have the interest on the space activities starting from science, technology, and innovations, but also the future of our planet and also the solar system in the broader sense. The youth or young generation has to have appropriate, or better, knowledge, more patience, more interest for better space activities in the future. That's why I had this special session under “Space Education for All” working group.

Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

Many people from various agencies, organizations, and companies were involved in APRSAF-29, not only to come and to see but also to participate and actively contribute in the discussions of the working groups, the initiatives, the plenary, and also during the exhibitions. I think they had a good understanding on the importance of the regional corporations in the space activities. That was a good opportunity for us to give them roles in this event. It is different when we attend the APRSAF meetings in other counties with limited delegations. For APRSAF meetings in other countries, usually only former LAPAN or BRIN delegates attended with maybe one or two delegates from private companies. This year, organizing the APRSAF meeting in Indonesia, this is a big opportunity for us to invite more people from various stakeholder entities of space activities in Indonesia including the private companies, not just to see, but also to participate or to contribute. It inspired them how to improve our national space activities or program.

BRIN could not conduct everything by ourselves, so, we had to have involvement and support from various stakeholders in Indonesia, including the ministries. We also invited, for example, the disaster authority in relation to space application for disaster management. They raised their needs and their contribution to the space activities to enhance or improve their space activities, including space application for a disaster risk management.
Having this kind of event, we benefit, in our perspective, to give opportunities for all the stakeholders to attend to see, to observe, to share their experiences, and also to contribute. We also had the opportunity to collaborate with international organizations. I think this is direct influences of the APRSAF meeting. I think we also had a long-term influence.

Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

Regarding the contribution of the space activities in a social economic development, I think, it started many years ago, maybe more than 10 years ago, in the last decade. The applications of the use of the satellite data, for example I think, is quite intensive in many social economic developments. I could not imagine that using the satellite imagery to contribute to various area, because it's beyond our imagination, with the advances of the satellite technology, the higher resolutions of the satellite imageries, and also the broader spectrum band in optical and SAR. It opened the opportunities to analyze the data and use it for various types of applications in the social economics.

We can use the data for the taxations, for example. We can provide a kind of products to the Ministry of Finance to create a system for the accurate assessment of the buildings for taxation. We can identify the new buildings and land use with the very high-resolution imageries. Ministry of Social Welfare also has used satellite imagery to have the information on the how many households in the criteria of the poor. We can monitor the forest, the agriculture, and the rainfall, and so forth. Ministry of Health has a concern and awareness that they can utilize the satellite communication technology to implement the telemedicine program. These are concrete or real contributions to the socio-economic development in Indonesia.

And of course, there are some challenges. For example, monitoring condition of Indonesian atmosphere, the cloud cover. We need to develop more methods and techniques combining optical and SAR data and we need to provide the information more frequently as needed by the users in the social economic sectors.

Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

I already explained we have Indonesian Space Law since 2013 and several implementing regulations with at the national and ministerial levels. Now we will proceed with the establishment of the other government regulations, namely for the space port and then the for the commercial activities.

This is important because the role of the private entities is rising quite significantly. This is a global trend including Japan. The private sector does not only participate but contribute to the success of the space program in Indonesia. The government encourages and promotes the start-ups to give the opportunities.

As to the Space Law, we have to discuss with the parliament. As the Space Law is an umbrella and with it, we can develop the governmental regulations.

As to the Space Policy, it is established in 2016 at first and it is a strategic environment in global level as well as in our domestic level and quite dynamic. So, we have to evaluate our space policy once every two years.

Prof. Dr. Erna Sri Adiningsih

First, we will continue participating in the APRSAF events. But I think what is more important is the success of initiatives of APRSAF such as Sentinel Asia, SAFE project, Kino-ABC, and other initiatives. Not just to attend the meeting, we continue our participation actively in the initiatives and contribute to them and involve ourselves to the benefit from the initiatives. It is not only for Indonesia but also for the other APRSAF community. I think we can help other developing countries to get the benefit from the APRSAF, to use space technology, for example, disaster management or agriculture. This is how Indonesia contributes to the APRSAF. APRSAF is a good opportunity, not only for the community but also for many other developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. Among ASEAN countries, some has space agencies and others don’t. But without space agencies, they can play their roles to extend the benefit of the space activities through APRSAF initiatives and we can assist them. I think this is the role of APRSAF.