SINGAPORE: As the rocket rose into the sky over the Malaysian state of Perak, Simon Gwozdz felt something close to disbelief. It was the first time his firm had successfully test-launched a prototype rocket, and Southeast Asia’s first commercially developed one.
The 2020 launch was the culmination of months of preparation and troubleshooting by the Singapore firm, Equatorial Space Systems. It was the first of many more over the years, as the team pursues its goal of becoming a launch service provider that takes clients’ satellites to space.
“Each launch sears into your memory like a hot iron, and I frankly can’t imagine doing anything else,” said Mr Gwozdz.
His firm is among the space players in Singapore watching closely as the country establishes the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) on Apr 1.
The announcement was made by Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Tan See Leng at the inaugural Space Summit earlier this month.
The new agency will build on the work of the existing Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn), but with a broader mandate and stronger institutional footing, said Dr Tan, who is also manpower minister.
