The National Space Agency (), abbreviated ANGKASA, was the national

space agency Space is a three-dimensional In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position (geometry), ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It was established in 2002 and its charter aims to upgrade, stimulate and foster the country's space programme through integrated and coordinated efforts by developing and applying space technologies. In 2019, the National Space Agency (ANGKASA) was merged with the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency (MRSA) and renamed the

Malaysian Space Agency The Malaysian Space Agency (), abbreviated MYSA, is the national space agency of Malaysia. On 20 February 2019, the Malaysian Cabinet had approved the establishment of MYSA through the merging of Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency (MRSA) and Na ...

(MYSA) for greater synergy.

Angkasawan program

Crewed programs

The

Angkasawan program The ''Angkasawan program'' was an initiative by the Malaysian government to send a Malaysian to the International Space Station on board Soyuz TMA-11. The program was named after the Malay word for astronaut, ''Angkasawan''. It resulted in Sh ...

was an initiative by the Malaysian government to send a Malaysian to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

on board

Soyuz TMA-11 Soyuz TMA-11 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The mission began at 13:22 UTC on October 10, 2007, when the spacecraft was launched from the B ...

. The program was named after the Malay word for astronaut,

Angkasawan The ''Angkasawan program'' was an initiative by the Malaysian government to send a Malaysian to the International Space Station on board Soyuz TMA-11. The program was named after the Malay word for astronaut, ''Angkasawan''. It resulted in Shei ...

. It resulted in

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha (born 27 July 1972) is a Malaysian Doctor (title), doctor. He launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew on 10 October 2007. Sheikh Muszaph ...

becoming the first Malaysian in space on 10 October 2007. The program was officially announced by the former

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...

, as a joint programme with the Russian Federation. It was a project under the government-to-government offset agreement through the purchase of

Sukhoi Su-30MKM The Sukhoi Su-30MKM (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). It is a variant of the Su-30 series fighters, with many significant improvements over the original Su-30MK ...

fighter jets for the

Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (; ). However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force formations of the British Royal A ...

. Under this agreement the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

bore the cost of training two Malaysians for space travel and for sending one to the

(ISS) in October 2007. It resulted in Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor becoming the first Malaysian in space on 10 October 2007. The evidence suggests that the main objectives of the program are to uplift the national image and to instill in the younger generation greater interest in mathematics and science. At the launch, the then Malaysian Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr

Jamaluddin Jarjis Jamaluddin bin Mohd Jarjis (25 May 1951 – 4 April 2015) was a Malaysian politician, diplomat and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. He served as the Chairman of the 1 Malaysia Peoples' Housing (PR1MA) and Malaysian special envoy ...

said: "It is not merely a project to send a Malaysian into space. After 50 years of independence, we need a new shift and a new advantage to be more successful as a nation. "We want to awe and inspire, and spur Malaysians to attain greater success by embracing science and technology." Later, Dr

was more specific as to the objective of the program when he said that it "was to create awareness among Malaysians the importance of science, technology and the space industry, which could help develop the economy further."

himself said that "I am not seeking fame or looking forward to be welcomed like a celebrity, but my quest is to inspire Malaysians, especially school children to like learning the subject of science and the space industry."

Muslims in space

In April 2006, ANGKASA sponsored a conference of scientists and religious authorities, addressing the issue of how the circumstances of space travel would affect the obligations faced by

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

astronauts (for instance, how can one face the

qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

while

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

ing the Earth). The Malaysian National Space Agency, in co-operation with other Malaysian agencies, developed the "Guidelines for Performing Islamic Rites at the International Space Station" with the help of 150 scientists and clerics. The handbook details how Muslim astronauts may observe Islamic rites while in orbit. Daily prayer times are aligned with those at the point of departure and if Mecca cannot be located, the astronauts may pray toward the Earth itself. Female Muslim astronauts are required to cover everything but the palms of their hands and their faces.

Satellite programs

Malaysia uses both satellites purchased abroad and developed in country by

Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd (ATSB) Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd or better known as ATSB was established on 1 May 1995 and is wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Inc under the supervision of the Malaysian Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Chang ...

. All of Malaysia's satellites are launched abroad.

TiungSAT

TiungSAT is the first Malaysian

microsatellite A microsatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain Sequence motif, DNA motifs (ranging in length from one to six or more base pairs) are repeated, typically 5–50 times. Microsatellites occur at thousands of locations within an organ ...

. The satellite was developed through the technology transfer and training programme between

and

Surrey Satellite Technology Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, or SSTL, is a company involved in the manufacture and operation of small satellites. A spin-off company of the University of Surrey, it is presently wholly owned by Airbus Defence and Space. The company began ...

of the United Kingdom. TiungSAT-1 was launched aboard the

Dnepr rocket The Dnepr rocket (; ) was a space launch vehicle named after the Dnieper River. It was a converted ICBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit, operated by launch service provider ISC Kosmotras. The first launch, on April 21, 1999, ...

from the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

in Kazakhstan on 26 September 2000. The satellite was developed for experiments in Earth imaging, observation of meteorology, detection of

cosmic ray Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the ...

s, data storage and communications.

MEASAT

MEASAT MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd.) is a Malaysian communications satellite operator that owns and operates the MEASAT (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) and AFRICASAT spacecraft. The company provides s ...

(Malaysia East Asia Satellite) is the name of a family of

communications satellites A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

owned and operated by

MEASAT Satellite Systems MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd.) is a Malaysian communications satellite operator that owns and operates the MEASAT (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) and AFRICASAT spacecraft. The company provides s ...

Sdn. Bhd. (MYX: 3875, formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd.), a Malaysian communications satellite operator. As of 2006, the MEASAT satellite network consisted of three

geostationary A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...

satellites designed and built by

Boeing Satellite Systems The Boeing Satellite Development Center is a major business unit of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It brought together Boeing satellite operations with that of GM Hughes Electronics' Space and Communications division in El Segundo, Califo ...

. MEASAT-1 and MEASAT-2 were launched in 1996 and

MEASAT-3 MEASAT-3 was a Malaysian communications satellite which was successfully launched on 11 December 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. In March 2003, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia ordered a Boeing 601HP satellite, givin ...

in 2006. The MEASAT-1 and 2 satellites were designed to provide 12 years of both direct-to-user television service in Malaysia and general communications services in the region from Malaysia to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and from

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. With the launch of MEASAT-3, the coverage has extended to an area encompassing 70% of the world's population.

RazakSAT

RazakSAT RazakSAT was a Malaysian Earth observation satellite carrying a high-resolution camera. It was launched into low Earth orbit on 14 July 2009. It was placed in a near-equatorial orbit that presents many imaging opportunities for the equatorial reg ...

is a high-resolution Malaysian Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite made by

that was launched on board a Falcon 1 on 14 July 2009. It was placed into a unique near equatorial orbit that presents many imaging opportunities for the equatorial region. RazakSAT is an Earth-observing satellite developed in Malaysia and launched in 2009. Its primary instrument is a medium-aperture camera. Images from the camera are relayed to an Image Receiving and Processing ground station in Malaysia. It failed barely more than 1 year after launch, according to an audit report from October 2011.

InnoSAT

Developed by ATSB. The cubesat InnoSAT-2 (COSPAR 2018-096V, SATCAT 43738) was launched on 29 Nov 2018 by ISRO. InnoSAT-2 carried a dosimeter, a CMOS camera and an experimental reaction wheel. The satellite bus was locally developed. InnoSAT-2 decayed from orbit on 9 December 2022.

Space launch plans

In 2001, ANGKASA collaborated with Japan to develop a space launch site in either the

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory ...

n state of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

Infrastructure

ANGKASA has few satellite-linked ground stations and main Malaysia Space Centre including acting multi-laboratorial Mission Operation Centre, Optical Calibration Laboratory and currently building multi-facilitated Assembly, Integration and Test Centre. For performing of starts of future indigenous space launchers and foreign operators of space launch services (usual launch pads or air-space systems like Russian

air launch Air launching is the practice of releasing a rocket, missile, parasite aircraft or other aircraft payload from a mother ship or launch aircraft. The payload craft or missile is often tucked under the wing of the larger mother ship and then "dropp ...

etc.), Malaysia is planning to found energy-advantageous near-

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

ial

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport''—and even more so ''cosmodrome''—has traditionally referred to sites capable of ...

Tawau Tawau (), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city (or town)While Tawau have a population of more than 100,000 of which is considered city elsewhere in the world it is offic ...

in Sabah in Malaysian part of

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

island.

References

External links

* *
History of Malaysian space program on Astronautix.com

"Malaysia has high hopes for Moon"
by Jonathan Kent, ''BBC News'', 28 August 2005, retrieved 7 July 2006
Malaysian astronauts to spin top
{{authority control Space agencies Science and technology in Malaysia Scientific organisations based in Malaysia Engineering companies of Malaysia Federal ministries, departments and agencies of Malaysia Government agencies established in 2002 2002 establishments in Malaysia Ministry of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment (Malaysia)