Taking O On The Right Launch Pad

TAKING OFF ON THE RIGHT LAUNCH PAD

Assoc Prof Dr Farzad Ismail, School of Aerospace Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) shares his thoughts on the importance of industry and academia working together on Malaysia’s space ecosystem. The LEO satellite project must be built on the right foundation. Industries and academia must work in tandem, he says.

my.iT: Please tell me about the School of Aerospace Engineering in USM – a brief background, how competitive the program is, some of your well-known alumni, etc.

Dr Farzad: The School of Aerospace Engineering (SAE) in USM was founded in 1999. It is the only aerospace programme in the northern region of Malaysia. Currently, it has 40-plus sta of which half are lecturers. The fouryear undergraduate Aerospace Engineering programme at USM is accredited by the US-Washington Accord through the Board of Engineers Malaysia. There are more than 250 undergraduate and postgraduate students at SAE. The postgraduate education o ers both MSc and PhD in research mode. The student population consists of 80% local students and 20% international students. Our undergraduate programme is highly competitive with about only 5-7% success rate for admission each year. Some of our well-known alumni includes Hong Yong Guan (B.Eng 2016), the co-founder of Poladrone; Shah Rizal Ahamad Sha (B.Eng 2007), UTC Aerospace System and Professor Ir Dr Kamarul Ari n Ahmad (B. Eng 2001) who is now the Head of Department of Aerospace Engineering at UPM.

my.iT: What is the mission of USM’s School of Aerospace Engineering?

Dr Farzad: We aim to provide quality and innovative teaching and maintain accreditation for its degree programme; to achieve research excellence; to establish and enhance the collaboration with industries for education and research; to serve the society and country by providing the latest knowledge and technology.

my.iT: How would you describe the partnership between USM and Angkasa-X? Why partnerships like these are important?

Dr Farzad: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented global disruption. But the pandemic has sustainable online teaching and learning on a massive scale in both urban and rural areas. It is well known that there is a severe limitation of internet connectivity in the rural areas especially in Malaysia. Currently there is no out t in Malaysia that can provide the required connectivity, at within a reasonable cost.

Besides economic reasons, USM and Angkasa-X share a mutual goal in terms of social responsibility. It is about doing something that will have an impact on society. The idea of providing an a ordable internet connectivity through satellite services to the poor transforming the economic and social well-being of the bottom billion population. USM and Angkasa-X strive to be the academic-industry partnership in Malaysia that will deliver the rst constellation of Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite services not only to Malaysia but also for the whole ASEAN region. This collaboration is likely a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity.

my.iT: How do you see Malaysia’s space story developing in this decade?

Dr Farzad: Currently the global space economy is worth USD400 billion (ESPI 2020 report) and is expected to be a multi-trilliondollar economy by 2040. If Malaysia can tap just 1% of this market, it will still be a multi-billion-dollar industry creating new sub- industries and job opportunities in country. A new horizon is on the cards and, together with Angkasa-X, USM Aerospace wants to be the key player in the Malaysian space ecosystem.

my.iT: What could prove to be a hurdle for this growth?

Dr Farzad: There is a similar, wellknown foreign out t called Space X, a direct competitor that already has a few years of head start. Due to the broadcasting restrictions to foreign entities by the local authorities in ASEAN countries, it will be di cult for Space X to penetrate this region. As of now, I do not think Space X has gained permission to provide satellite services in Malaysia or any other ASEAN countries but this scenario can change. In other words, if USM and Angkasa-X cannot deliver internet services using LEO satellites within a sensible period of time then this golden opportunity will be taken up by Space X or some other out t.

my.iT: What can we do to accelerate the growth of space technology in the country?

Dr Farzad: The LEO satellite project must be built on the right foundation. It requires having the space ecosystem as shown in the gure below. (Table 1)

The most important aspect is that industries and academia must work in tandem. The former will produce the required human capital through education, training and cutting-edge research to support the needs of the industry, which can be divided into upstream and downstream. The upstream portion includes companies that design, manufacture and operate satellites and possibly also work with rocket launchers. The downstream involves secondary entities that deal with the communication and navigation of satellites. For a rapid and sustainable growth of the satellite industry, a clear directive from the upstream and downstream industries not only in terms of the technology required but also the type of human capital that will be employed. With clear directive, universities can streamline their curriculum and focus their research e orts to meet these needs. This engagement between industries and academia must be continuous until the expected target is met. Other than that, NGOs and secondary schools must provide a non-formal education via STEM learning or through extra-curricular activities to instil the interest in space during the youths’ formative years. Central to all this are the government agencies, ministries, state and regulators to support the space ecosystem through coordination, laws and regulations.

Table 1

NON FORMAL SPACE EDUCATION NGCS, Industries

UPSTREAM Satellite Manufacturing, Satellite Operator, Rocket/Laucher Manufacturing

REGULATORS, MINISTRY, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

DOWNSTREAM Communication, to, Navigation Satellite

RESEARCH

Universities, Governmenet Agencies

Education/Training

Universities

Taken from European Space Policy Institute Report - New Space in Asia 2020 (Chapter 8-written by Norilmi Ismail et al.)

my.iT: What are the spill overs of a great national space programme, for instance in agriculture transport, environment? What about “technology transfer” from the space programme into other commercial products?

Dr Farzad: The LEO satellites orbit closer to Earth compared to Geosynchronous satellites hence the signal propagation from Earth to satellite and back for the former is much quicker (about 15 times faster). This low latency time of LEO satellites not only provides a more e cient communication services but will also a ord the ultimate platform for Internet-of-Things (IOT) in Malaysia and ASEAN as part of the IR 4.0 revolution. This will open up many IoT prospects which covers land, sea and air transport services, machinery operations in factories and agricultural farms, environmental management and control and many more.