What is the National Space Agency of Singapore, and what is its mandate?

SINGAPORE - From April 1, a new statutory board called the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) will begin operations to promote research and development and start-up activities in the space sector here.

Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Tan See Leng first announced the formation of the new agency in February, saying it will build on the existing functions of the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn).

OSTIn, under the purview of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), was set up in 2013 to drive the development of small satellite capabilities and new sensor technologies.

In 2020, its mandate expanded to include the development of the workforce in the industry, as well as to grow international partnerships.

But from April, OSTIn will be folded into NSAS, which will come directly under the Ministry of Trade and Industry as a new department of the ministry.

Helming the agency as chief executive will be veteran public servant Ngiam Le Na, the deputy chief executive of DSO National Laboratories, Singapore’s largest defence research and development organisation.

Unlike large nations such as the US and China, NSAS will not build rocket launchpads or send a team of astronauts to space.

Instead, its mandate will include these three objectives: building a thriving space ecosystem, establishing a multi-agency operations centre to coordinate tasks for the public sector, and developing national legislation to govern space activities.

NSAS will build on Singapore’s existing strong foundations in space-adjacent sectors such as aerospace, microelectronics, precision engineering and artificial intelligence.

Building a thriving space ecosystem

The new agency will build on OSTIn’s existing initiatives to attract space companies and start-ups to set up shop in Singapore.

OSTIn launched the Space Technology Development Programme in 2022 with a $210 million kitty to fund the testing and development of innovative space technology and train talent. The Government plans to increase its investment in space in the coming years.

Singapore-based Zero-Error Systems is one beneficiary, having received a grant of an undisclosed sum in 2023.

The Nanyang Technological University spin-off pioneered the design and manufacturing of radiation-hardened chips.

Radiation in space is over 1,000 times more intense than on Earth.

Zero-Error’s chips are designed to prevent radiation from destroying satellite electronics and corrupting data transmission to Earth.

It has a customer base of more than 50 satellite makers, including those based in the US, Japan, India and Europe.

The NSAS will also help both international and local companies expand their presence through global ties and programmes that the EDB and Enterprise Singapore have established.

Today, Singapore has more than 2,000 people working in 70 companies within the space sector. Most of the employees are engineers, scientists and analysts.

One of the biggest players is ST Engineering. It designs and builds satellites, including the satellite’s primary system known as a satellite bus, which ensures it stays in orbit.

The company has launched five satellites since 2015, with plans to develop and launch more – Nebula, Polaris and the NeuSAR-2 Constellation – within the next few years.

These will be used to ensure fast and frequent delivery of high-resolution satellite imagery from space to Earth to support time-sensitive environmental monitoring and disaster response efforts.

In particular, optical imaging satellite Polaris will be able to analyse photos captured with an AI system onboard, and prioritise the transmission of images that are needed during urgent events to accelerate the decision-making process.

Another Singapore company, Addvalue Technologies, has developed a device – a world’s first – to let satellites beam information back to Earth at any time of the day.

Traditionally, satellites orbiting close to Earth can beam information back to Earth only when they fly over a ground station.

This happens every 90 minutes when satellites complete an orbit.

Addvalue’s Inter-satellite Data Relay System has been installed in more than 30 satellites in space.

Establishing a multi-agency operations centre

NSAS will act as a centralised point of contact, through a new multi-agency operations centre, for all government agencies’ data requests from space.

The centre can keep track of the number of satellites in space, their owners, where they are located and what kind of information is beamed back to Earth, said Mr Chew Hwee Yong, chief executive of the Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore).

“It can do away with duplication of efforts,” said Mr Chew.

Government agencies may need satellite images of a specific location for all sorts of applications including environmental monitoring, urban planning, port operations and food security.

For instance, satellite images of the area around Singapore ports can be used to study port safety and operations.

In the US, Landsat satellites launched by NASA and the US Geological Survey monitor crop health and signs of drought.

In Singapore, satellites are key to providing communications to places where cellular towers cannot reach, such as out at sea and in remote rural areas.

Over the past two decades, more than 30 satellites have been launched by the Singapore Government, academic researchers and firms here for maritime surveillance, disaster management and communications.

Developing national legislation to govern space activities

NSAS will also develop national legislation and regulations for the space sector to boost Singapore’s international standing.

Dr Tan said in February that the goal is to be pro-innovation and pro-business, while meeting high standards for space safety and sustainability.

In 2024, OSTIn put out a set of guidelines recommending individuals and organisations to register objects launched into outer space, and inform the office of any significant changes such as the loss of ability to communicate with the object, or the transfer of the object into another orbit. However, these requirements are not legally binding.

For a start, the guidelines recommend that all space-related activities in Singapore be aligned with practices spelt out in international standards such as the ones set by the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the International Organization for Standardization.

One area Singapore could potentially look into is space situational awareness, given the rising congestion.

For instance, under the UN committee, companies are urged to prevent space debris from damaging spacecraft or potentially killing the astronauts manning them.

Mitigation measures include designing space systems to release minimal debris during operations, which will limit the probability of accidental collision with objects.

These recommendations are meant to help UN member states craft legislation to govern companies in the sector.