Can the new space renaissance bring the Malaysian space sector back to life?

If before this space had been a domain for the big public players with deep entrenched approaches to building large expensive rockets and satellites and costly space exploration missions, now, with the space renaissance as witnessed in America, the private innovators and players like Elon Musk are reshaping space exploration with faster and considerably cheaper ways.

Closer to home, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia have been involved in innovative high-altitude balloon launches to the stratosphere (often referred to as the ozone layer) since early 2010. Under the Malaysia-Singapore Near Space Experiments Programme (NSEP) 2019, together with Nanyang Technological University), they have successfully launched and recovered payloads sent into the orbit.

"Venture capitalists are more willing to fund non-traditional space enterprises which have knocked down the space industry’s high barrier to entry," said Malaysian astrophysicist, Professor Emerita Datuk Seri Dr Mazlan Othman, while acknowledging the technology revolution in smartphones and personal computers have significantly contributed to this space renaissance.

However, in Malaysia, as we witness this transformation taking place across the world stage, there have been some initiatives of late to breathe life into the lagging space sector. To address this, the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA) was created in 2019 by merging the National Space Agency and Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency.

MYSA was mooted as a way forward to maximise the space sector’s efficiency and impact.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) also tabled the Malaysian Space Board Bill 2020 in Parliament last November to explore the use of space in line with national aspirations and priorities. During Akademi Sains Malaysia’s (ASM) kickoff webinar series this year “The Space Industry: Are the Stars Within Reach?”, streamed live on Jan 13, the discussion centred on the importance of Malaysia’s involvement in the space sector, and how Malaysia can position or reposition itself in this space renaissance and new space economy.

ASM Fellow Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, emphasised the need for Malaysia to revisit its space aspirations. He said, “We have been in the space business for the last 25 years. We have developed our capabilities and competencies when there were only a few players at the start.”

He added that in the 90s, the space sector piggybacked on the National Aerospace Blueprint launched in 1997. The aerospace industry has been identified as a strategic industry for its wide potential in the country's industrialisation and technological development programmes.

Today, armed with the National Space Policy 2030, the proposed Malaysian Space Board Bill and the evolution of the private space sector with new business models and disruptive innovations, Malaysia is presented with a window of opportunity to revive the space sector and harness its full potential while contributing in tandem to our socioeconomic development.

While providing a rundown on the bill, UiTM Law Faculty Assoc. Prof Dr Tunku Intan Mainura Tunku Makmar Nizamuddin said, “Generally, space legislation will be an instrument to ensure the private or non-governmental entities carry out their space activities in accordance with the national interest and space policy of Malaysia.”

As Malaysia subscribed to the dualism approach in accepting the international law, she said, “We can only ratify a treaty if we have a national legislation on the subject matter.

“For example, in space matters we need to have these space legislations first before we can ratify any one of the United Nation’s outer space treaties, namely the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention, 1975 Legislation Convention and the 1979 Moon Treaty.”

According to her, on the international front, countries with space activities have obligations under Article 6, 7 and 8 of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty as states bear responsibility for the activities of the private entities and should authorise and continually supervise these activities. This is also because states are internationally liable for the damage caused by space objects used by private entities, she added.

However, while new space regulations should bring legal and regulatory clarity, they should not be a stumbling block for the progress of current and new space actors.

As University of Nottingham’s Assistant Professor Dr Nafizah Goriman Khan pointed out, "The new legal and regulatory provisions pertaining to licenses should not hinder progress, and should not stifle innovation but should ensure the exact opposite."

Meanwhile, Dr Mazlan expressed concerns when reading Part 4 of the Provision 16 of the Bill on licensing, where it states that anyone found violating this would be subjected to a fine of millions of ringgit. She was worried if this new regulation would be a constrain to universities and educational institutions which have been developing their own space technology for Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM).

She also hoped that exemptions are given to ensure high schools and universities are not hindered from venturing into the sector.

Dr Nafizah, also a Colonel for Malayan Volunteer Air Force (MVAF), noted that while Malaysians have the creative minds and skill sets, what is needed to further propel the space sector is for financial support mechanisms to be made available.

“The aerospace industry has contributed about RM20 billion up until before the pandemic hit in 2019. The space sector too, had its fair share of contribution during the early years, but lost its momentum along the way,” said Dr Mohd Yusoff, who is also the CEO of MIGHT, whose key role among others is to build and drive partnerships in technology through a consensus building platform between the private and public sectors.

Yet, the prospect even within the promising space renaissance is put to question in the face of global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. As put forth by Dr Mohd Yusoff, would the space industry be able to match or surpass the contributions once made by the aerospace industry to GDP?

In her conclusion, Dr Mazlan said, "Unfortunately, the distant glamour is fading a little and what we desperately need now is individuals within Malaysia and the global investment community who possess the foresight in space, to look beyond current crises to help new space actors, to provide support for a better ecosystem to grow the space economy."