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A space war – aka a battle of the billionaires – happened recently between Virgin Group’s Richard Branson and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Both raced to see who would get to space first. Branson eventually won by nine days, having blasted off last week.
When talking about space exploration or space tech, the US seems to hold a dominant position. But Southeast Asia could be gaining ground in the sector.
Today we look at,
- The issues and challenges of space tech in Southeast Asia
- A Singapore-based cleantech startup’s plans to slash energy consumption
- Other newsy highlights such as Reliance Retail acquiring a controlling stake in an Indian search firm and Tencent-backed Chinese firm halting its US listing plans
PREMIUM SUMMARY
Why space tech is ready to take off in Southeast Asia
Fact: Nearly 170 million pieces of junk are floating in Earth’s orbit – a product of a surge in satellite launches since 2004. Now, when we talk about outer space, the conversation is no longer about just exploring the universe. The new mission? Cleaning up space debris. The market opportunity for space junk removal is huge, possibly generating close to an estimated US$29 million in revenue as early as next year. Can Southeast Asia grab a slice of this pie?
- One small step for man, one giant leap for Southeast Asia? Well, not yet. Before companies can launch any space project, they need to work with government regulators. But not many countries have implemented national space laws. In Southeast Asia, only Indonesia and the Philippines have done so.
- Expert life forms: The region is also lacking talent with the expertise in assembling space assets due to what some say is an absence of university courses that involve rocket and satellite technologies.
- To infinity and beyond: Despite these challenges, it is still possible for spacetech startups in Southeast Asia to take off. In Cambodia for example, five high school students plan to launch the country’s first minisatellite this year.
Read more: How Southeast Asia’s spacetech industry can truly take off
STARTUP SPOTLIGHT
This cleantech startup wants to slash energy consumption
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