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SINGAPORE: The global space economy is expanding rapidly, fuelled by cheaper launches and rising demand for connectivity, climate monitoring and disaster response.
But industry leaders say growth without cooperation and shared responsibility risks turning space into an unstable and contested domain.
These warnings surfaced on the sidelines of the Space Summit in Singapore, which concluded on Tuesday (Feb 3).
Themed “New Frontiers: Shaping a Responsible and Inclusive Space Future”, the two-day event brought together space agencies, defence players and commercial entities to discuss how the global space economy can continue to grow while remaining safe, sustainable and accessible.
Speaking to CNA, delegates highlighted rising congestion in orbit, military and civilian overlap of space technologies, and growing geopolitical tensions as signs that space is becoming more fragile.
TOO CRITICAL TO FAIL
For Airbus Defence and Space CEO Michael Schoellhorn, the urgency stems from how deeply embedded space systems have become in daily life.
“A lot of things that have to work in a modern society (and) economy, do not work if you don’t have space,” he said.
“There will not be any finance. Banking won’t be possible. Navigation, earth observation, climate research and national security – all of these depend on space.”
That reliance, he warned, has made space infrastructure an vulnerable target.
Cyberattacks, jamming and “dog fights” – referring to satellites being shadowed by those of other nations – are real threats, he said, adding that space is a “contested domain for military purposes”.
At the same time, the rapid deployment of satellite constellations, particularly in low-Earth orbit where most commercial satellites operate, is increasing congestion.
Those concerns, industry leaders say, are now forcing governments and agencies to confront how space should be governed as traffic increases and the risk of incidents grows.
SPACE MUST REMAIN A COMMON GOOD: ESA
With space becoming more strategically important, the European Space Agency (ESA) emphasised that it must be treated as a shared global resource.
ESA, which represents 23 member states, works to develop shared capabilities that no single country could pursue on its own. One example is in monitoring climate change or providing secure positioning and navigation, said Mr Laurent Jaffart, ESA’s director of resilience, navigation and connectivity.
“Space is a common good … not the proprietary area of one country or one actor, and therefore we need to preserve the peaceful use of space as much as possible.
“What we need to work on is to be able to cooperate, even if we have different interests,” he added.
But that principle, he said, is increasingly under pressure.
Mr Jaffart pointed to actions such as countries deploying missiles to destroy their own satellites, creating debris that threatens other space users.
While acknowledging each nation’s right to develop its own space systems, he warned that too much fragmentation could undermine interoperability.
“All these systems will be done in isolation and would not necessarily be interoperable. We would not be able to work in coalitions of (the) willing, where we could share data that each country is receiving,” he said.
“If standards are defined, they can be shared and applied.”
BUILDING CAPABILITY ACROSS ASIA PACIFIC
Even as major space players focus on resilience and security, the conversation in the Asia-Pacific region centres on ensuring smaller and developing nations are not left behind.
Ms Jiang Hui, secretary-general of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), said access to space has expanded dramatically since the organisation was founded in 2008 by eight member states – including Bangladesh, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan and Thailand – with limited space capabilities.
She noted that in the early years, access to high-resolution satellite data was far more restricted.
Today, with large constellations of satellites orbiting Earth, data has become much more readily available. But Ms Jiang said access alone does not translate into capability.
“Capacity building is the same,” she said, while noting that member states differ in economic development.
She added that APSCO has prioritised human capital because of this, running degree programmes and training initiatives on space technology for member states.
Over the years, hundreds of participants have completed APSCO-supported master’s and doctoral programmes and returned to contribute to their home countries, she said.
In addition, shorter training courses are used to help states learn how to interpret and apply satellite data, including for areas such as agriculture management and disaster response, helping narrow the gap between data access and know-how.
INDIA - A RISING SPACE POWER
Meanwhile, India’s space programme is entering a more ambitious phase, marked by large-scale national initiatives and a burgeoning private sector.
Dr Pawan Goenka, chairman of IN-SPACe – India’s national body for promoting and authorising private space activity – said the clearest signal of India’s rise lies in the scale and confidence of its national programmes.
Recent milestones such as Chandrayaan-3 – the country’s third lunar exploration mission – have been followed by plans to send an Indian astronaut into space, establish a space station by 2035 and land an astronaut on the Moon by 2040, he noted.
Alongside these state-led efforts, India’s private space industry has grown at a remarkable speed, he added.
From having virtually no commercial players five years ago, Dr Goenka said India now has around 350 companies operating across the sector.
He added that India is building dedicated infrastructure to support this growth, including a launch centre designed specifically for small satellites, multiple private launch vehicles capable of carrying payloads of up to 500kg, and satellite assembly capabilities.
As its capabilities expand, Dr Goenka warned that discipline will be critical to ensure space is not misused.
He stressed: “India will never, ever look at space for anything other than what is the right use of space.”
ROOM FOR SMALLER PLAYERS
For small actors, the focus often turns to using space technology to address immediate needs, while building capability.
In the Philippines, such technology has become a critical tool in disaster management.
Dr Gay Jane Perez, officer-in-charge of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), said the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters has made the case for investing in space more critical.
The agency, established in 2019, has focused on using satellite data to support disaster response and preparedness.
PhilSA draws on open and commercial sources for high-resolution imagery, while also developing its own capabilities.
“We don’t just rely on data provided by other space actors, but we want to be data generators or data producers ourselves,” Dr Perez said.
To date, the Philippines has built and operated eight satellites – two microsatellites and six CubeSats – with a small satellite scheduled for launch later this year.
Even as it builds sovereign capabilities, Dr Perez stressed that space remains inherently collaborative.
“Small or big, we can’t do space alone,” she said, noting that international cooperation allows countries to maximise the use of satellites which coverage often extends far beyond national borders.
Shared data, common standards and interoperability, she added, become even more important as orbit grows more crowded.
For Singapore, the opportunity lies in its technological edge.
Airbus selected the country as one of its global technology hubs because of its digital strengths and ability to extract value from space-based data, Mr Schoellhorn said.
“Space is a data generation machine, and you need to do something with the data,” he said, pointing to Singapore’s technology talent pool and strong economic fundamentals.
“Singapore has really developed from a consumer of space services and space products to becoming a leading nation by developing its own industry, by tapping international corporations,” he added.
He added that Airbus’ close collaboration with local partners such as ST Engineering has helped build what he described as a unique space ecosystem.
That ecosystem is now being enhanced through the creation of the National Space Agency of Singapore, which was announced during the Space Summit on Monday. It is set to begin operations in April.
The agency is intended to provide national leadership as Singapore seeks to manage safety, sustainability and growth amid intensifying space activity.
Singapore has committed more than S$200 million (US$157 million) since 2022 to space research and development, against the backdrop of a global space industry projected to reach US$1.8 trillion by 2035.
