State Roles in Commercial Spaceport Governance: Lessons for Indonesia and the Global South

The expansion of commercial space activities in the New Space era has created new governance challenges for states, particularly in developing countries seeking to establish spaceport infrastructure. This paper examines how different institutional models shape the governance of commercial spaceport development through a comparative analysis of the United States, France, and India. Adopting a qualitative benchmarking approach, the study applies four analytical perspectives—regulatory governance, the entrepreneurial state, national innovation systems, and public–private partnerships—to assess state roles as regulator, coordinator, facilitator, implementer, and catalyst. The findings show that the United States combines regulatory oversight with entrepreneurial market-shaping functions, France relies on a centralized, state-led model, and India is transitioning toward a hybrid system with increasing private sector participation. Indonesia, by contrast, remains in an early transitional phase, characterized by strong regulatory functions but limited facilitative and catalytic capacity. The paper argues that developing a competitive and sustainable spaceport ecosystem requires strengthening institutional coordination, establishing a specialized regulatory authority, advancing mission-oriented innovation policies, and promoting more collaborative public–private partnerships. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers in Indonesia and other Global South countries seeking to position themselves within the evolving global space economy. The findings also contribute to public policy debates on state capacity and governance in high-technology sectors, offering practical lessons for Indonesia and other Global South countries operating under resource and institutional constraints.