NIBONG TEBAL, 19 May 2022 – Penang witnessed a very momentous event today with the Ground Breaking Ceremony of Angkasa-X’s Earth Station Farm and State-of-the-Art Space Technology Centre, located within the grounds of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Engineering Campus here.

Believed to be the first in Malaysia, the Earth Station Farm and Space Technology Centre is the epitome in building the space tech ecosystem for the country and its people.

According to USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan, USM will be working with Angkasa-X, offering the first of its kind professional satellite engineering programmes incorporating coursework, lectures and “hands-on” fieldwork at the Angkasa-X Technology Centre R&D laboratories.

“USM is committed to continuously support Angkasa-X in carrying out satellite system research and development through the School of Aerospace Engineering. The collaboration with Angkasa-X will allow USM to embark on and explore new frontiers in satellite development, particularly in satellite communication technology,” he added.

Dr. Sean Seah, Executive Chairman of Angkasa-X, said, “We envision to provide a platform where connectivity is an affordable necessity for nation building and towards the betterment of mankind. In other words, the space tech ecosystem will become the means to elevate the community’s standard of living, including those in non-urban areas”.

“Today marks another major milestone in Angkasa-X’s and Malaysia’s progress in SpaceTech. Do look out for our next milestones including setting up of Space City and partnerships with multi-national SpaceTech companies” added Dr. Seah.

Chief Minister of Penang, Y.A.B. Chow Kon Yeow expressed his personal pride at the ground breaking event, stating that the SpaceTech Centre will serve as a critical element to attract more investments into the island.

Last year, Penang was the highest manufacturing FDI recipient in Malaysia with 98% of Penang’s approved manufacturing investments, driven mainly by the existing investors’ reinvestments into the state.

“The Earth Station Farm and SpaceTech Centre will be a great addition to the 50 Years of Penang’s Industrialization Journey. We are marching forward to ensure the sustainability of our robust industrial ecosystem by welcoming a major game changer in the future development of Penang. I am confident that this will increase further investments for Penang as well as create more business and job opportunities,” says Kon Yeow.

The state-of-the-art centre will be used for research and development (R&D), assembly, integration and testing (AIT) of Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellites to form and operate the Angkasa-X A-SEANSAT LEO satellite constellations.

The centre will also provide a fertile ground and hands-on experience for science and engineering students, tech professionals as well as the E&E communities in areas of satellite research and development, talent upscaling and data analytics.

The ceremony was graced by T.Y.T. Tun Dato' Seri Utama Ahmad Fuzi bin Hj Abdul Razak, Yang di-Pertua Negeri Pulau Pinang. Among the guests who attended the historical ceremony included KKMM, MITI, MCMC, MIDA, Malaysia SpaceTech Hub@Penang communities, E&E Companies, PIKOM and USM.

Angkasa-X is a Technological-social Inclusion Company that strives to provide internet connectivity as a necessity for the betterment of mankind. Its mission is to provide internet-connectivity to rural areas in Southeast Asia where traditional terrestrial fiber network is limited and therefore improve the standard of living and aims to eradicate poverty for Asian-people living in the rural areas.

Source: Angkasa-X Press Release (19 May 2022)/Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa