Other ASEAN Countries: Space Achievements So Far

Abstract

Four countries in ASEAN do not have a space development program: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. This chapter demonstrates that although these countries do not have an official domestic space program, they have nevertheless conducted certain forms of space activities, mostly focused on space applications rather than technology development per se. In fact, the space development situation in these four countries is more complex and varied than often described in the available literature, which usually discards them as pure and simple “non-space” countries. Some own a telecommunication satellite, while others only benefit from leased ones; some have initiated programs to build domestic capacity in space technology development and utilisation, while others mostly rely on foreign expertise. Beyond their differences, these four countries also share cross-cutting issues, such as the growing influence of China in the development of local space activities, the important role played by regional space cooperation and capacity building organisations, but also the great technical and political challenges of initiating a space program in a low-income country.