Singapore Accelerates Space Ambitions

Singapore’s ambitions to grow its share of the rapidly growing space market were in evidence on the inaugural day of Space Summit 2026.

In his inaugural address, Dr. Tan See Leng, Singapore’s Minister for Manpower and Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, announced the establishment of the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS). “This new agency will be formally established on 1 April, 2026 and provide decisive leadership for Singapore to seize opportunities in the expanding space economy,” Dr. Tan said.

“Space systems are integral to how societies function and economies operate,” said Leck Chet Lam, Managing Director of Experia Events. “As the space ecosystem becomes more interconnected and operationally dense, alignment across governments, industry and partners is increasingly important. Space Summit 2026 capitalises on the natural synergies between aviation, aerospace and space — bringing together adjacent sectors that increasingly share technologies, infrastructure and talent — and provides a neutral platform for open, practical discussions on shared responsibilities, while also supporting the development of future talent that will shape the sector in the years ahead.”

Space Summit 2026 is expected to draw over 1,500 attendees and more than 300 participating companies and organisations including representatives from 20 Space Agencies and Offices, convening more than 60 speakers over 12 panel sessions.

The Singapore Government has set aside more than SGD 300 million since 2022 for space-based activities. More than 30 satellites have been launched over the past two decades by the Government, academia and industry building on the launch of Singapore’s first communications satellite in 2011.

Dr. Tan also announced that Singapore’s next-generation NeuSAR-2 satellites, designed and developed by ST Engineering, would be ready for launch in 2027.  The NeuSAR-2 constellation will comprise four new Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites. The first satellite is to be launched in 2027, followed by the last in 2030.

Low Jin Phang, Chief Operating Officer for Defence & Public Security, and President of Digital Systems, ST Engineering, said, “Our space programme is founded on proven engineering excellence and technical innovation, enabling us to develop more advanced SAR and optical imaging satellites in Singapore for a wide range of missions. In addition, our innovative satellite systems and geospatial solutions unveiled today at Space Summit 2026 leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to solve real-world problems for customers worldwide.” 

When fully operational in near equatorial Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the NeuSAR-2 Constellation will provide high-revisit coverage across the equatorial region, delivering high-resolution imaging to support missions such as environmental monitoring and disaster response planning. While traditional Electro-Optical (EO) satellites are generally restricted to day imaging due to the availability of light. SAR satellites transmit electromagnetic waves to the Earth’s surface for ‘illumination’, and are capable of producing images in both day and night.

Singapore’s first high-performance microsatellite NeuSAR was launched into space in June 2022. It is the world’s first fully polarimetric small satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The 160 kg satellite featured a fully polarimetric) for all-weather imaging capability.  

ST Engineering also announced its other satellite plans at the space summit. The company is working towards delivery of NEBULA, Singapore’s first pathfinder demonstrator for advanced inter-satellite laser communications, in the second half of 2026. NEBULA will be used to test gigabit per second data transfer capabilities that will form the critical foundation for ultra-fast space networks supporting global broadband coverage, Earth observation and secure data exchange. 

The company will also commence research and development to build a new optical imaging satellite POLARIS for real-time Earth observation with next-generation capabilities such as onboard AI processing.