Singapore will launch its first national space agency in April to provide “decisive leadership” for the Southeast Asian country to tap an “expanding space economy,” the nation’s government announced on Feb. 2. Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology, noted the new National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) will target the “new possibilities posed by democratized access to outer space.”
The agency will be led by Ngiam Le Na, a veteran public servant who previously served as deputy CEO of Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency and at DSO National Laboratories, the country’s defense R&D organization.
According to Tan, NSAS will focus on five key areas: research and development, growing the space industry, global partnerships, expanding national capability in space, and legislation for safety and sustainability in space.
The World Economic Forum predicts the global space economy to exceed $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $613 billion in 2024.
Singapore is currently home to 70 space companies employing about 2,000 professionals. Its government has also inked partnerships with global space agencies including the European Space Agency, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre, and the UAE Space Agency.
