The Philippine government is embarking on long-term plans to break into the global rocket and space launch industry. It is no empty, ambitious dream. After all, the Philippines has its own satellites in orbit, primarily for planet earth observation and communications. Projected to grow $1 trillion globally by the year 2040, the global rocket and space launch industry currently has only a few locations worldwide serving as rocket launch hubs, including sites in the United States and French Guiana.
To target at least 10 percent of the estimated $1-trillion industry two decades from now, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda believes it is “not a moon shot” to achieve this once the planned space port site is put up in the Philippines. He echoed the typical smart businessmen’s mantra: “Location, location, location.”
Aguda steps up to campaign to promote Cagayan as the best possible location for the country’s first-ever rocket and space launch site as a major factor with the highest returns for investments.
“This (location of the Philippines) is our competitive advantage,” Aguda enthused. At our Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum last Wednesday, the DICT secretary was in his best salesman’s mode, announcing the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) has already set in motion the proposed rocket and space launch project for private sector partnership/joint venture agreement. In fact, Aguda noted, this project is no longer on the drawing board of the Philippine government but out for immediate implementation.
Joining Aguda at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum, Dr. Gay Jane Perez, director-general of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), announced the space port facility is included in the list of projects up for bidding under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center. Perez confirmed the DICT and the PhilSA have been working with Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) administrator Katrina Ponce-Enrile on this initiative to develop the first-ever rocket launch hub in our country.
At least three PhilSA projects, Perez disclosed, were included in the PPP list for offer to joint venture agreements. She described them as “strategic investments” available for the private sector as partners. Aside from this space port development, the other PhilSA projects in the PPP list are: the telecommunications satellite and a constellation of earth observation satellites. Certain companies from South Korea and even “locally pioneering” companies like Ascent Gateway have expressed interest in some of these projects, she revealed.
Perez agreed Cagayan is the best location for the proposed rocket and space launch pad facility inside the CEZA enclosure. For both security and safety considerations, she noted, the proposed site is operational and ready to accommodate the launch pad facility.
Currently, Aguda believes the Philippines is in a position to become a future player that could break into the rocket launch sector. His optimism is buoyed by the huge number of Filipino scientists, engineers and other technologically-skilled workers and a deep well of rare earth mineral resources all around the country that could be explored and tapped into.
Part of the grand plan, he disclosed, involves studying the feasibility of producing rocket fuel locally. “If we are going to launch rockets, we can also produce the fuel ourselves,” Aguda pointed out. He explained modern rocket fuels are no longer petroleum-based but composed of liquid oxygen and methane that the Philippines has ample supply of, as well as vast mineral resources.
Aguda recalled the Philippines is envied for being the first in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in sending geo-satellites into outer space in the 1970’s. Named “Mabuhay” satellites, these were launched during the regime of PBBM’s namesake father, the late president Ferdinand Sr. “But all these were decommissioned and retired already,” Aguda rued.
“We now want them to be sustainable. So that decades from now, di na yung tipong ‘dati meron tayo, ngayon wala na.’ We look for sustainability,” he wished.
“This will not happen overnight. We are not yet ready for that. It will take time,” Aguda pointed out.
An agency attached under the Office of the President, Perez cited PhilSA has stepped up the government’s target to develop and launch more satellites soon. Before the end of this year, she said, MULA, or multispectral land assessment, satellite is tentatively set for launch into outer space to replace “Diwata-2” satellite before it is decommissioned. The Diwata-2 satellite was launched in 2018.
The DICT secretary and PhilSA chief were joined by the decommissioned “Diwata-1” satellite. The last time Aguda was our featured guest in our news forum last Feb.11, he brought along Convy and Convo, a humanoid and a robot dog, respectively. Both operated by artificial intelligence (AI), the two robotic figures were presented to PBBM in a telco summit held a week earlier that month.
Presenting the decommissioned “Diwata-1” satellite, Perez recalled it was put together earlier by a team of experts from Japan and Filipino engineers. Perez herself once trained in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US.
Perez also presented a replica of the PhilSA-assisted “model rocket” launched last year and done by Cebuano engineering students. She also described PhilSA's plan to launch “sounding rockets” – smaller rockets used for research and technology demonstration only. “These are not yet for (outer) space, but this will demonstrate that we can launch from here,” Perez declared.
Done by budding scientists from an otherwise unknown Indiana Aerospace University in Cebu, its amateur rocketry program serves as an example of ongoing efforts to build local capability in aerospace technology, she stressed.
According to her, the PhilSA plan targets universities and tech-driven Filipino students through rocket-building competitions to help develop local talents in aerospace engineering. The initiative will focus on simpler rocket systems using solid fuel, making participation more accessible. “Because it is simpler, more students can participate,” Perez pointed out.
It aims to lay the foundation for our country’s future domestic space industry while encouraging greater innovation and participation among Filipino youth.