A content test rocket (RUM) community has been established in Yogyakarta to help improve human resources in rocket technology in the country.
Jointly established by the Research and Technology Ministry and Gadjah Mada University (UGM), the community accommodates rocket activists and is aimed at developing rocket technology in the country.
“Indonesia is still dependent on other countries’ products for rockets. It’s crucial for Indonesia to develop the technology,” Research and Technology Ministry’s defense and security expert Hari Purwanto said in Yogyakarta over the weekend.
He said the ministry was planning to produce 1,000 units of R-Han 122 rockets which had come with warheads designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Institute (LAPAN) for defense purposes.
“They are projected to replace those rockets produced by foreign countries,” Hari said.
Separately UGM Rector Pratikno said that apart from defense purposes, rockets also had something to contribute to wider society although they did not directly touch on people’s daily lives.
“Rocket (production) needs a strategic policy for long-term interest. It also needs huge investment,” Pratikno said.
Taken from The Jakarta Post.
