Biak’s relevance as a potential satellite launch site is rooted in its history as a major World War II battleground, where Japan and the United States fought a series of intense engagements in 1944. The proposal to develop Biak as a spaceport has divided local sentiment between those in favour and those opposed. Nationally, the spaceport would improve Indonesia’s space sector, making the country more competitive in satellite launch and emerging commercial space markets. The debate over the Biak spaceport highlights a deeper tension between national ambitions and the everyday realities of local communities. The conflicting views illustrate that the Biak spaceport is more than a technological proposition: it is a contested idea of what the island’s future should be.