By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-30 08:31:34 | Updated at 2025-01-30 18:50:17
10 hours ago
A Malaysian state’s ambition to become Southeast Asia’s hub for lucrative satellite assembly and space launches pivots on creating a talent pool of aerospace and rocket engineers to draw the likes of Elon Musk’s Space X, experts say.
The Sabah state government last week announced that it had launched a one-year feasibility study into the project, which it hoped would turn the state into an industrial hub for the space industry.
Initially floated in 2023, the state government signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye State Design Office – which specialises in space-rocket technology – and local defence and aerospace firm Sovereign Sengalang, to explore Sabah’s potential as a regional space launch site.
Sabah has an extensive shoreline stretching about 1,500km on its mainland, and sits close to the equator, ideal conditions for rocket launches and recovery.
At the time, Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor said the centre had the potential to generate 200 million ringgit (US$45.5 million) in annual revenue from space launches, creating 5,000 new jobs and hundreds of new companies in construction, electronics and logistics.
