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Singapore will launch its first national space agency in April to provide “decisive leadership” for the Southeast Asian country to tap the “expanding space economy,” the country’s government announced on February 2. Tan See Leng, Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology in Singapore, said that the new National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) will target “new possibilities that outer space can provide.”
The agency will be headed by Ngiam Le Na, a veteran public servant who previously served as deputy CEO of Singapore’s Defense Science and Technology Agency and DSO National Laboratories, the country’s defense R&D organization.
According to Tan, the NSAS will focus on five important areas: research and development, development of the space industry, global partnerships, expansion of national space capabilities, and legislation for the safety and sustainability of space.
the World Economic Forum The global space economy is predicted to exceed $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $613 billion by 2024.
Singapore is now home to 70 aerospace companies employing about 2,000 professionals. Its government has also signed partnerships with world space agencies including the European Space Agency, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center, and the UAE Space Agency.
“Singapore’s strength in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, micro-electronics, precision engineering and artificial intelligence positions us well to seize new opportunities in the space technology sector,” read a February 2 press release by the country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Executives luck spoke with also expressed excitement about the evolving space scene in Singapore and the greater APAC region.
“(Singapore) is a very important R&D hub, and as we heard this morning, it is growing in the space sector,” said Massimo Claudio Comparini, the managing director of the Italian company Leonardo’s Space Division. “Asia is a growing region, and it is one where space infrastructure, connectivity and geospatial technology are very important.”
An inaugural space summit
The Singapore government made the announcement at the Space Summit, the city’s first show focused on the space industry. Global aerospace giants like AirbusThales and Leonardoas well as smaller startups like India’s Pixxel, Japan’s Synspective and South Korea’s Pedigree Aerospace will be at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
“We hope that companies can use the Space Summit as a platform to develop opportunities in the Asia-Pacific and around the world,” said Leck Chet Lam, who heads Experia Events, the organizer of the Space Summit. The summit, which attracted more than 330 participating organizations in its first year, has been renewed for a second iteration.
