It’s an unexpected sight, reflecting the growing enthusiasm in the Southeast Asian space region. At the expo, held amid designer shops and street-food stalls, enthusiastic attendees from emerging space countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and of course Thailand have gathered to showcase Southeast Asia’s emerging space industry.
While there is some uncertainty about how the region’s space sector might actually develop, there is also considerable optimism. “Southeast Asia is perfectly positioned to lead the way as a space hub,” says Candace Johnson, partner at UK investment firm Seraphim Space, which operates in Singapore. “There are a lot of opportunities.”
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For example, Thailand may build a spaceport to launch rockets in the next few years, the country’s Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency announced a day before the expo opened. “We don’t have any spaceports in Southeast Asia,” says Atipat Watanuntchai, acting head of the space economy advancement division at the agency. “We saw a difference.” Because Thailand is so close to the equator, those rockets will get an extra boost from the Earth’s rotation.
There are all kinds of companies exploring how they can enter the global space economy. VegasCosmos, a startup based in Hanoi, Vietnam, is looking at ways to use satellite data for urban planning. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is monitoring rainstorms from space to predict landslides. And Seoul, South Korea-based startup Spacemap is developing a new tool to better track satellites in orbit, in which the U.S. Space Force has invested.
