An Australian founder of a rocket factory in Changi has expressed faith in the future of Singapore in the space race. In fact, he thinks that the tiny city-state could be the spaceflight leader in the region.
Adam Gilmour, the owner of the Queensland-headquartered Gilmour Space Technologies (GST), says Singapore is the right place for rocket launches, thanks largely to its geographical location situated right above the equator. In the same reason, Gilmour told Forbes in an interview why he chose to bring GST to Singapore more than any other country.
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"The fact Singapore is on the equator – an ideal latitude to launch rockets from – is an advantage. There is also enough space here to build rockets," explained Gilmour.
Despite the government's claim that the country has constraints in space, Gilmour believes that there is enough room in Singapore to cater rocket factories. "There are factories here that are as large as SpaceX's rocket factory in the United States and most small satellites don't even need large factories to build them, a standard 2000-3000 square foot factory space would do."
In terms of workforce, Gilmour underscores that the country is home to some of the best workforce in the world from top aerospace engineering schools and research hubs like National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.
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The arrival of GST in Singapore has been deemed the first of more investors in space technology to come in the future. Gilmour's company was established in 2012 and financed most of it until it received its Series A funding in June 2017, making it worth US$15 million.
Like SpaceX, GST is aimed at producing low-cost space vehicles that can carry satellites to earth's orbit. Gilmour reveals that his company will also be working to deliver rocket launches to the Moon or even Mars.
