Singapore spaceport: Did you know the nation is ideal for space travel?

Straits Times

09-05-2025

Spaceport America in New Mexico. Experts say spaceport development and launches are possible even in land-scarce Singapore, experts say. PHOTO: VIRGIN GALACTIC
Singapore spaceport: Did you know the nation is ideal for space travel?
Could there be a spaceport in Singapore some day, launching both satellites and humans into space?
In late 2024, an executive at space-tourism company Virgin Galactic, Mr Mike Moses, told The Straits Times it could envision building spaceports in locations such as Singapore.
A similar idea was floated as far back as 2006, when a bold plan to build a US$115 million 'Spaceport Singapore' near Changi Airport was announced by a consortium of investors and an American space-tourism firm.
At the time, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore even said it had begun formulating regulations for commercial spaceflight.
That plan never materialised, however.
When contacted recently, a spokesperson for Singapore's Office for Space Technology & Industry (OSTIn) said there are currently no near-term plans for a spaceport.
But she added: 'We believe our space sector has a solid foundation for multiple space-related opportunities.'
Industry players and analysts agree, noting that a spaceport here could leverage Singapore's transport-hub status and proximity to the Equato r – with the latter also offering fuel-saving advantages for certain launches.
In 2023, the Center for Space Policy and Strategy – a think-tank within The Aerospace Corporation, a non-profit funded by the United States government to support its space programmes – published a paper arguing that Singapore has 'all the makings of a serious space nation'.
It is not the only one in the region with spacefaring ambitions. Indonesia is keen to have its own spaceport, while Thailand and South Korea have partnered to study the feasibility of building a Thai one.
But the paper highlighted Singapore's wealth, well-educated workforce, advanced manufacturing, equatorial location, and status as a maritime and aviation hub. These are 'characteristics that suggest it could play a more prominent role in the domain in the years ahead'.
Crew member and scientist Kellie Gerardi enjoying a few minutes of weightlessness on a Virgin Galactic flight.
PHOTO: VIRGIN GALACTIC
Mr Richard Lamb, systems director at The Aerospace Corporation and an expert on spaceports, tells ST it would be reasonable for Singapore to consider operating one.
'It's a timely question because we're on the verge of seeing humanity start to travel in space far more frequently.
'Space tourism represents a component of that, but we can also look forward to point-to-point space transportation,' he says, referring to the possibility of using suborbital space flights to travel from one point on Earth to another.
And Singapore's location, demographics and economy are all 'good arguments for entering the spaceport conversation'.
That sentiment is echoed by Mr Simon Gwozdz, founder of Equatorial Space, a Singapore-headquartered start-up developing rockets and space-launch services.
'Space logistics are a natural extension of the other types of logistics Singapore has already mastered, including maritime and aviation,' he says.
A 2020 photo of Mr Simon Gwozdz inspecting a prototype rocket in Malaysia. He is the founder and chief executive of Equatorial Space, a Singapore-based start-up developing rockets and space launch services.
PHOTO: EQUATORIAL SPACE
Too small for a spaceport?
But in land-scarce Singapore, the first question that comes to mind with any large infrastructure project is whether there is enough room.
Says Ms Lynette Tan, chief executive of Space Faculty, a Singapore-based organisation developing talent for the space industry through education: 'The current requirements for a spaceport do involve significant land use, which Singapore may not be able to provide.'
This may not be a deal-breaker, though.
'That's the beauty of horizontal space launch missions like Virgin Galactic's and point-to-point space transportation,' Mr Lamb says.
In these launches, the initial phase sees an aircraft take off horizontally from a runway, similar to a conventional plane. Then, once it is airborne, a rocket is fired to carry the payload into space.
'There are a number of companies around the world trying to build the next space planes. A ll of that is horizontal, so you can operate adjacent to or as part of an airport because the take-off and landing ar e no different,' says Mr Lamb.
While launches near an airport such as Changi would require careful planning, horizontal space launches, even in populated areas, are probably going to be a very exciting sector in the future, he predicts.
'And I think Singapore is as reasonable a location as any.'
Many space flights are already launched close to big cities, Mr Gwozdz points out. 'I don't think people realise just how close many launch sites are to popular areas.
'In Florida, many launch facilities are within a few kilometres of Port Canaveral, a tourist destination. And you can go there and view some launches from fairly up close.
'For testing and R&D, there's always the possibility of something going wrong, so you do want to give yourself some additional safety buffer,' he adds.
'However, if you already have an operational and well-validated system, the space constraints can be reduced.'
Mr Gwozdz also raises the possibility of launching spacecraft from the seas around Singapore – by using a modified barge as a platform, for instance.
'What we really have going for us is the South China Sea. There is a massive area there that is reserved mostly for military exercises and comes under the Singapore Flight Information Region (airspace) – and it's larger than the airspace SpaceX has for launches in Florida.'
Equatorial advantage
Singapore's location near the Equator, where the Earth rotates fastest, means rockets launched eastwards on some missions get a boost.
PHOTO: VIRGIN GALACTIC
Singapore's low latitude – just over one degree north – is a plus too.
The Earth rotates fastest at the Equator, where it spins eastwards at 1,670kmh. This creates a slingshot effect that gives rockets launched eastwards from here a free boost, reducing fuel needs or increasing payload capacity.
However, Mr Lamb notes that this benefits only some missions, such as those launching spacecraft into geostationary orbits circling the Earth directly above the Equator.
'And the space tourism or point-to-point space transportation market will probably be driven less by orbitology and more by the commercial demand signals,' he says.
Concerns about inclement tropical weather – think monsoon season, or Singapore's high rate of lightning strikes – are also overblown, Mr Gwozdz believes.
'Many locations used as launch sites, such as French Guiana and Florida, have weather very similar to Singapore's. So it's just something you have to deal with.'
Flourishing space industry
Another advantage is that Singapore already has a nascent but flourishing space industry, largely focused on satellites.
According to OSTIn, there are more than 70 companies and 2,000 professionals and researchers here working on everything from satellite design and manufacturing to data processing.
Many of them would love to see a spaceport on these shores.
Mr Lim Wee Seng, executive director of Nanyang Technological University's Satellite Research Centre, says: 'Singapore could be a good place to build a spaceport, and one part could be for space tourism and the other part for satellites.'
He thinks it could also make sense to operate this as a regional network of launch sites.
'It may or may not be in one central location, and we could even launch in our neighbouring countries.
'It would be more ambitious if all of South-east Asia worked together, with different ports in different places.'
If Singapore does construct a spaceport, regional relationships will be more important than ever – and could be a hurdle.
'Rockets can appear kind of scary, including to the neighbours,' says Mr Gwozdz. So, if a launch involves another country's airspace, 'the biggest challenge we'll have to overcome is operational cooperation with our neighbours'.
But if there is enough will, there's definitely going to be a way, he adds. 'And we've got a lot of the building blocks already in place.'
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