Singapore to launch national space agency to capture piece of US$1.8 trillion global market

Singapore is set to establish a national space agency in April, a move that industry insiders believe will cement the city state’s role as a pre-eminent regional hub for extraterrestrial innovation. The launch of the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) aims to capture a slice of a global space economy projected to reach US$1.8 trillion by 2035, while capitalising on increasingly democratised access to orbit. Tan See Leng, the Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology, announced the initiative on Monday during the city state’s inaugural space summit at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre. According to Tan, the NSAS will allow the country to seize emerging opportunities, building on more than S$200 million (US$157 million) set aside from 2022 for research and development projects. The new body is expected to expand the remit of the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn), which has operated under the Economic Development Board since 2013. Tan described Singapore as an “ideal launch pad” for companies providing space services across the Asia-Pacific, citing the country’s reputation as a trusted, connected hub with robust finance and logistics sectors. “We will continue to groom a strong talent pool, including a bench strength of local expertise, to support the growth of our space technology sector and to access the good jobs created,” he added. The government currently co-owns three Earth observation satellites with the state-linked ST Engineering, but plans are in place to broaden these capabilities. “We will establish a multi-agency operations centre that will support government agencies with satellite tasking and bespoke geospatial data analytics,” he said. This could benefit areas such as port operations, urban planning, environmental monitoring and food security, he said. Given its equatorial position, Singapore also intends to explore a larger constellation of satellites to serve both national requirements and broader regional use cases. “Looking ahead, Singapore will explore further developing our constellation of satellites to meet national needs as well as use cases across the Equatorial Belt – as our geographical location positions us to do more in this region,” Tan said. A spokesman from the Ministry of Trade and Industry told This Week in Asia that the NSAS would begin as a departmental unit with 30 staff, all from OSTIn, but added that this was expected to grow over the next five years as the agency’s remit expanded. He said the NSAS aimed to strengthen Singapore’s standing as a credible contributor to the global space ecosystem and deliver innovations and solutions with global impact. “With the establishment of the NSAS, the government is planning to increase its investment in space in the coming years to build up our national space capabilities and grow our space sector. More details will be announced in due course,” the spokesman said. Cedric Ng, head of business development at Space Faculty, told This Week in Asia that the move showed Singapore’s readiness to take a more active role in the global space ecosystem. However, Ng argued that sustained talent development would be a necessary prerequisite for this ambition. “To become a space hub in the region, investment in youth talent development is essential. We need to train, mentor and inspire the next generation to prepare them for their entry into the space industry,” Ng said. He noted that Space Faculty provided pathways for young people through initiatives such as the International Space Challenge for those aged 13 to 25 and a recently launched satellite building workshop. These programmes, Ng added, aim to cultivate a new generation of space engineers capable of supporting the industry’s expansion. These grass roots efforts aligned with the optimism at the summit, where more than 1,500 attendees from 40 countries and regions greeted Monday’s announcement of the new agency with applause. Niranjan Gundala, vice-president of product marketing and strategy at microchip firm Zero-Error Systems (ZES), suggested the agency would provide a vital platform for local firms to internationalise. With the NSAS becoming operational on April 1, ZES – which manufactures space semiconductors locally – expects to leverage future partnerships with other global space agencies. “Space is borderless, and we at ZES would be able to forge strong synergies with global stakeholders in the Space ecosystem, and bring ‘Made in Singapore for the World’ innovation solutions from ZES with support of NSAS,” said Niranjan. RJ Stensland, vice-president of sales in Asia-Pacific at LeoLabs, noted that the move signified Singapore’s commitment to the space-based economy. There’s a lot of emerging space nations in Southeast Asia, but of course, Singapore is way ahead of the rest RJ Stensland, LeoLabs regional executive “We see Singapore as a major partner for Southeast Asia. There’s a lot of emerging space nations in Southeast Asia, but of course, Singapore is way ahead of the rest,” Stensland said on the sidelines of the summit. He added: “It has been a long time in the making and I’m very happy to see that it’s actually happened, because it confirms that Singapore is taking this seriously and operating on a similar level to Australia, New Zealand, and other countries in the area which have established space agencies to promote space sustainability and safety.” According to an Institute for International Political Studies report published last October, institutional and legislative frameworks for space development in Southeast Asia remain fragmented, reflecting both uneven technical capacities and the diversity of political systems. While Indonesia and Singapore currently possessed the highest number of satellites in Southeast Asia, industry insiders argued that Singapore stood out with a strong research base and vibrant commercial ecosystem, positioning it to scale from small satellites to more sophisticated platforms.

Singapore to launch national space agency to capture piece of US$1.8 trillion global market

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}By launching a national space agency, Singapore aims to scale its satellite capabilities and lead the Asia-Pacific in space sustainability

By launching a national space agency, Singapore aims to scale its satellite capabilities and lead the Asia-Pacific in space sustainability