Ngiam Le Na, chief executive of the National Space Agency of Singapore (left) and Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of the Japanese space agency JAXA, present the signed memorandum of cooperation between the agencies July 6. Credit: SpaceNews/Jeff Foust
TOKYO — Singapore’s new space agency signed a cooperation agreement with its Japanese counterpart as part of its efforts to build up the country’s space industry.
During the Spacetide conference here July 6, Ngiam Le Na, chief executive of the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS), signed a memorandum of cooperation with Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of the Japanese space agency JAXA.
Under the agreement, the two agencies will examine potential opportunities for cooperation in areas spanning space technology, science, applications and industry development. The agencies will also work to promote collaboration between Japanese and Singaporean space companies.
Industrial collaboration will be a key aspect of the agreement. “We are putting a lot of focus on satellites and satellite-related technology,” Jonathan Hung, deputy chief executive of NSAS, told reporters after the signing ceremony. That includes gaining insights from Japan on how to build a satellite industry ecosystem and finding potential partnerships with Japan.
