LANGKAWI, May 25 — Asean countries should band together in building their own regional space agency as it may help to reduce the issues of cost and resources, which have always been the gray cloud over any space-related development project, said Axelspace Japan president and chief executive officer Nakamura Yuya.
He opined that it should be in the government’s interest to play an important role to facilitate a feasible environment for the space industry in any region to grow.
“Most of the countries have their own space agencies. Instead of discussing and networking maybe we could propose a big space project like Artemis. Then maybe Asean start-ups can be involved and more (space) start-ups will enter the market,” Nakamura said.
He was a panel member discussing the topic of regional space cooperation at the Langkawi International Space Forum (LISF) 2023, a programme under the Space Tech Nexus in conjunction with the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2023 (LIMA’23), earlier today .
Meanwhile, Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) Space Technology Missions and System Bureau director Marc Caesar R. Talampas, at the same session, agreed that Asean countries should pool their resources, especially in the monetary context, to boost the regional space industry.
“If we were pursuing an ultimately grand mission, I do not think it would work in any other way. So, yes definitely we need to help each other, and at the same time we also need to figure out how we can pool our other resources such as young talents,” he said.
In the Balancing Commercial and Regional Interest session, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Professor of Management and Marketing Janet K. Tinoco suggested that Malaysia and other Asean member countries continue to strengthen their partnerships while working hand in hand in setting their regional space interest.
Meanwhile, Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, in his LISF 2023 closing speech, said the Space Tech Nexus has succeeded in surpassing the initial target set with its various programmes held during the biennial event.
The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti), via the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA), is looking forward to continuing to host the Space Tech Nexus event especially LISF in the coming years.
“During the Space Tech Nexus event at this year’s LIMA, we have successfully launched two action plans, namely Malaysian Space Exploration (MSE) 2030 and the Space Industry Strategic Plan (SISP) 2023, which provides clear guidelines to the local and international industries that wish to establish in Malaysia.
“We have successfully held bilateral sessions with six of the world’s leading space industry players and at the same time, Mosti through MYSA together with industry strategic partners, has successfully organised a space defence seminar with the cooperation of the Malaysian Ministry of Defence,” he said.
— Bernama
