Airbus Committed to Supporting Malaysia’s Sovereign Space Development

Leading aerospace company Airbus is reinforcing its commitment to deepening its contribution to the nation’s Space development journey.

Airbus has been a key Space partner to Malaysia since 1998, starting with Space imagery. This year, to commemorate 25 years of collaboration, Airbus and the Malaysia Space Agency (MYSA) jointly organised a one-day seminar titled “The Overview Effect: The Importance of Space for Global Sustainability, Defence and Security”, the company said 23 Oct.

Speaking at the event, Jose Corcia, Head of Airbus Defence and Space, South East Asia highlighted the importance of strengthening national capabilities and capacity in areas that increase resilience of critical infrastructure, and contribute to economic growth.

“For over five decades, Airbus has been working with nations and businesses globally to advance their Space aspirations. We are well placed to meet Malaysia’s Space needs and look forward to strengthening our partnership in Malaysia to fulfil its National Space Policy (NSP) 2030.”

Airbus was actively involved in the development, production and delivery of MEASAT-3b, the largest satellite ordered by Malaysia’s communication sector. Airbus was subsequently selected to build MEASAT-3d, a new multi-mission telecommunications satellite to replace capacity and augment MEASAT‘s core business in Malaysia, Asia, Middle East and Africa. The satellite was successfully launched in June 2022.

Beyond telecommunication satellites, Airbus partnered with MYSA to develop capabilities for satellite imagery reception. The Space agency today receives images from Airbus’ constellation of satellites, both optical and radar, to help Malaysia monitor day and night, and optimise the country’s natural resources, the statement said.

Airbus and MYSA have been close Space collaborators in the areas of satellite imagery, systems and services. The Space agency has over the years increased its Space capacity through Airbus’ constellation of imaging satellites, to generate data in support of its national development and sustainability initiatives. It has internally developed additional applications using Airbus remote sensing satellite imagery.

Today, MYSA is a strong Direct Receiving Station network partner in the region. The national space agency is also a recipient of the Industrial Collaboration Programme on Space systems including the TerraSAR-X terminal and Pixel Factory.

Malaysia is currently the only Southeast Asia country with the infrastructure and capacity to receive SPOT, Pléiades and TerraSAR-X telemetry.

MYSA also has virtual access to imageries acquired by Airbus’ latest constellation of twin satellites — Pléiades Neo.

At 30cm resolution, which is currently the highest resolution satellite imagery available in the commercial market, Pléiades Neo can be used for a wide range of applications across industries such as maritime, energy, agriculture, forestry, civil engineering and mobility, where high quality data and services will stimulate innovation and the development of new applications by local actors within Malaysia.

“There is immense potential for Malaysia’s sovereign Space development, which is bolstered by a robust local Space ecosystem. Airbus is well positioned with the technologies and products to support Malaysia develop a capable Space industry. We look forward to the opportunity to extend these partnerships together,” said Corcia. — airbus/adj/mhi (Pix: Airbus)