The people of Byak Island, Indonesia, have been angry over the granting of the island to SpaceX by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.
Elon Musk
Indonesia has offered an island in West Papua to Elon Musk’s company SpaceX as a launch site. SpaceX is working on its ambitious space program, which aims to take humans to the moon. However, Musk has not yet accepted this proposal. At the same time, since the decision of Indonesia, the people of this small island have a lot of anger towards SpaceX and Elon Musk.
According to the BBC report, Marcus Abrove is one of these people who have spent his entire life on Byak Island. He comes from the Abruv dynasty of the island, which has lived on the island for centuries. But now Marcus fears that if the island will be used as a launch site, then his house will be destroyed. Marcus said that if it is made then it will mean that our children and grandchildren will not be able to live on this island to live. The launch site will destroy the sea and the forests.
Island dwellers are completely dependent on nature
Byak Island is only slightly larger than London Island. It is 1,746 square kilometers big. About one lakh people live on Byak Island. The island is inhabited by more than a dozen different tribal groups. Although there are many urban centers on the island, most of the island is still relatively rural. Most of the people living on the island run their sustenance by killing fish and eating food from the forests and are completely dependent on nature.
… So that’s why Indonesia is eyeing this island
Nickel and copper are found on Byak Island, which can be used to make rockets. In addition, the island’s location is one degree below the equator, making it a better place to launch spacecraft. Launching spacecraft from here will cost less fuel. In fact, even before Elon Musk, Indonesia started keeping its space ambitions on Bayak Island. The country’s space agency bought 100 hectares of land on the island in 1980 itself. But due to many obstacles, the work could not proceed.
Elon Musk has shown interest in the island
On the other hand, SpaceX has not officially said anything about making a launch pad on Byak Island. But the head of the Indonesian Space Agency, Thomas Jamaluddin, said that Musk started showing interest when President Joko Widodo talked about the island. In January last year, a meeting was also held with representatives of SpaceX. Apart from SpaceX, Japan, Korea, China and India have also been approached to invest on this island.
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