Thailand’s mu Space is heading for the Final Frontier as it announced plans to participate in projects with the U.S. space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and space exploration initiatives. The announcement, that came during the Pacific Telecommunications Council’s (PTC) conference earlier this week, saw mu Space CEO and Founder James Yenbamroong set out his stall in terms of his future vision for the company.
Founded in 2017, Mu Space is looking to get a slice of the U.S.$10.5 billion budget that is set to be dedicated to space exploration. The company is no stranger to making big statements. In 2018, mu Space sent the first Asian payload on board a Blue Origin rocket. mu Space was founded with the intent to develop technology to aid the take-up of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart cities, and plans to launch its own satellite in 2021.
“2019 promises to be challenging for mu Space. We’re planning to engage with NASA to demonstrate our capacity to undertake big projects and to validate the technologies that we’re currently developing, from concept to testing to flight,” Yenbamroong said during the event.
mu Space also intends to make an entrance into lunar exploration, to join the global Moon Race competition and develop technologies that could be used to facilitate sustainable lunar exploration. Further details on the competition are set to be announced shortly, but it is backed by big players in the industry such as Blue Origin and Airbus, and organisations such as the European Space Agency (ESA).
“We can acquire the knowledge and skills needed to differentiate ourselves from the competition, and to build a disruptive approach to space exploration. We also have a business entity recently set up in the U.S. to bid for the projects,” he continued.
