TOKYO - Singapore's freshly minted space agency, the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS), has already found a pen pal. On July 6, NSAS chief Ngiam Le Na signed a memorandum of cooperation with JAXA president Hiroshi Yamakawa at the Spacetide conference, marking the agency's first international agreement since its April 1 establishment.

The deal will explore joint opportunities in space technology, science, applications, and industry development, with a heavy focus on satellites. “We are putting a lot of focus on satellites and satellite-related technology,” said NSAS deputy chief Jonathan Hung, who clearly didn't get the memo about not burying the lede.

Singapore's current space industry employs about 2,000 people across 70 companies, a number Ngiam hopes to grow “a bit more.” The agency has five main functions: developing national space capabilities, supporting R&D, maturing the industry, advancing international partnerships, and enacting national space legislation - the last of which will arrive in three to five years, because even space needs fine print.

Ngiam emphasized that Singapore will be selective, noting, “We do not have capabilities across the entire value chain. Singapore is very small, so we do not have space for launch.” Instead, the country will focus on Earth observation, climate resilience, maritime security, and other areas where it can actually compete. “Singapore is very good at choosing what we need to own, what we need to acquire and what we need to build,” she added, presumably while resisting the urge to buy a rocket.

The agreement was welcomed by local startups like SpeQtral, whose CEO Chune Yang Lum said it “paves the way for companies to engage with us.” NSAS also has existing bilateral agreements with India, Thailand, and the UAE, and plans to expand that list. Because nothing says “small but mighty” like a stack of signed paperwork.