Residents unhappy as Indonesia offers Papuan island to SpaceX as a launchpad

Indonesia has offered its Papuan island to Elon Musk for the launch of his SpaceX project. The residents of the island do not seem to be happy about it as they have said that Musk is not welcome on their land. According to the reports by The Guardian, the residents said that Musk’s presence on the island would devastate the ecosystem and also drive people from their homes. 

Residents unhappy 

Papuans on Biak do not agree with the government representative who told The Guardian that the plan was being developed after consulting the Papuan government and local communities. He also believed that this development would bring positive economic impacts. The residents, however, said that this will lead to deforestation in the region and increase the presence of the Indonesian military. According to the reports by The Business Insider, Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime and investment affairs said that Musk and the Indonesian president Joko Widodo had discussed the plans earlier in the month of December. Musk was planning to send a team to the island in January to look at the potential investments. 

The tribal chief of the island Manfun Sroyer said that he fears that the residents will be forced from their homes. He further added that the spaceport would cost the people their traditional hunting grounds. He also said that if people protest they will be arrested immediately. 

SpaceX Rocket all set to launch 

The SpaceX Rocket launch will be taking place on March 11th at 3:13 AM EST. This is the second rocket they are sending for the Starlink Launch this month and the 6th in total for the Starlink mission. The launch will be taking place in their Falcon 9 Rockets from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. SpaceX Launch for Starlink is being highly anticipated by everyone. SpaceX started testing its satellite web in provincial territories of the United States earlier this year. The beta testing of Starlink has seen a few outcomes that general society and the organization are content with. Musk has expressed that internet service will just improve from here.