{"id":263554,"date":"2026-02-02T06:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T06:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/263554\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T06:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T06:19:08","slug":"st-engineering-to-design-and-develop-new-satellites-in-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/263554\/","title":{"rendered":"ST Engineering to design and develop new satellites in Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"

These will improve high-speed data transfer, disaster response planning and environmental monitoring<\/p>\n

[SINGAPORE] ST Engineering will design and develop a constellation of four radar satellites in Singapore, a move set to accelerate the growth of the city-state\u2019s space capabilities and high-tech engineering ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The company made the announcement on Monday (Feb 2) as part of the inaugural Space Summit at the Singapore Airshow 2026. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur innovative satellite systems and geospatial solutions unveiled today at Space Summit 2026 leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to solve real-world problems for customers worldwide,\u201d said Low Jin Phang, ST Engineering\u2019s chief operating officer for defence and public security, and president for digital systems.<\/p>\n

This next phase of the group\u2019s space programme comprises the delivery of Nebula \u2013 a laser communications demonstrator for ultra-fast networks \u2013 in the second half of 2026, and the roll-out of the NeuSAR-2 constellation by 2030.<\/p>\n

These platforms, alongside a new AI-enabled optical satellite dubbed Polaris, aim to support functions ranging from broadband coverage to environmental monitoring focused on the equatorial region.<\/p>\n

Indigenous innovation<\/p>\n

ST Engineering has two decades experience in Singapore\u2019s space ecosystem; the group deployed the standalone Earth observation satellites Teleos-1 and Teleos-2 in 2015 and 2023, respectively. <\/p>\n

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The new programme shifts the focus to a coordinated network of smaller, locally designed spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Nebula, a locally developed satellite, will be used to test data-transfer speeds of gigabits per second. ST Engineering said such data-transfer capabilities \u201cwill form the critical foundation for ultra-fast space networks supporting global broadband coverage, Earth observation and secure data exchange\u201d.<\/p>\n

Crucially, Nebula serves as a \u201cpathfinder\u201d for inter-satellite links, which allow satellites to \u201ctalk\u201d to one another in space. Currently, most satellites must wait until they pass over a ground station to download their data. Such a delay can last hours. <\/p>\n

SEE ALSO<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

By hopping data from one satellite to another that is already within range of a ground station, this future technology could allow for near-instantaneous data transmission.<\/p>\n

Equatorial eye<\/p>\n

ST Engineering aims to launch the four synthetic aperture radar satellites that will make up NeuSAR-2 by 2030. The first of these units is slated for orbit in 2027.<\/p>\n

Weighing under 280 kg each \u2013 three times lighter than Teleos-2 \u2013 the new satellites are designed for agility and cost-efficiency. Unlike traditional optical cameras, radar satellites can capture images at night and through cloud cover.<\/p>\n

Once fully operational, the network will orbit near the Equator to provide frequent imaging updates, aiding missions such as disaster response and environmental monitoring.<\/p>\n

A potential use case of the satellite constellation is responding to oil spills, such as the one in Singapore in 2024<\/a>. As oil spreads rapidly due to tides and winds, the authorities need hourly updates to deploy containment booms effectively. <\/p>\n

The NeuSAR-2 constellation is designed to revisit the same spot up to 16 times a day, providing the high-frequency data needed to track such fast-moving events.<\/p>\n

The four-satellite architecture also offers resilience: If one unit requires maintenance, the others can continue the mission, ensuring an uninterrupted flow of data.<\/p>\n

Software developments<\/p>\n

On the software front, ST Engineering showcased new platforms to manage congestion in orbit and environmental issues on Earth.<\/p>\n

Its new Minerva Hub tracks space objects and weather to help operators avoid collisions. Meanwhile, Earthsurance uses satellite data to verify carbon credit projects by monitoring deforestation.<\/p>\n

ST Engineering on Feb 1 launched its largest unmanned cargo aircraft<\/a> to date at the media preview of the Singapore Airshow, along with other products from its defence and urban solutions divisions. <\/p>\n

On Monday, Singapore announced that it will set up the National Space Agency of Singapore<\/a> under the Ministry of Trade and Industry from Apr 1. The agency will front national space ambitions to be a leader in space technologies and a credible contributor to the global space ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"These will improve high-speed data transfer, disaster response planning and environmental monitoring [SINGAPORE] ST Engineering will design and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[111,139,69,147,392],"class_list":["post-263554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}