Singapore's leap into the space industry

Satellites that transmit weather data and television programmes and help people find their way with GPS could one day be made in Singapore, and the data analysed here too.

Singapore is taking formal steps to build its space-satellite industry by setting up the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTin). This is an Economic Development Board programme that comprises multiple Government agencies.

The new office was announced by Second Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran at the annual Global Space Technology Convention on Thursday.

Space, he said, attracts the interest of science and engineering students. And the industry's growth will spill over to other fields like precision engineering and electronics.