On September 22, 1962, the Initial Scientific and Military Rocket Project (known in Indonesia as Proyek Roket Ilmiah dan Militer Awal or "PRIMA") was formed as an affiliation of AURI (Indonesian Air Force) and ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology).
After two informal projects, which had no national contribution, the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) was established in 1963 by Presidential Decree 236.