Parliament pushes for spaceport in Thailand

Thailand’s location near the equator makes it an ideal launch pad for rockets and spacecraft, and so the Kingdom should invest in building a spaceport, according to the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Communications, Telecommunications and Digital Economy and Society in the House of Representatives, which is preparing a feasibility study on the topic.

Vice Chairman Settapong Malisuwan said that the study has already been written and is being finalized before submitting it to the full legislature and government agencies.

The lawmaker mentioned that investing in and building a spaceport would serve to propel Thailand’s development of advanced technology, create a high-tech talented workforce and draw investment and income to the Kingdom.

“To create new innovation for emerging tech occupations will result in valuable income,” Settapong added. “Therefore, we have to develop, support and equip people who have the potential for these roles to make it a success.”

Those people are few in Thailand, but their numbers are growing, thanks to new academic institutions focusing on creating such a workforce.

Thailand is no stranger to space. The Kingdom does own and operate several communications satellites, while university researchers recently built the country’s first satellite, and launched them from other countries.

Settapong insisted that Thailand’s proximity to the equator assists rocket speed on launch, resulting in less fuel consumption. He said that building a spaceport would create job opportunities in aerospace engineering, space manufacturing, petroleum, energy and space tourism.

Photo courtesy of https://thaiembdc.org/2021/04/21/first-thai-made-satellite-slated-for-2023-launch/