Space Situational Awareness: A Priority for Emerging Space Nations in Southeast Asia
The rise of space activity in Southeast Asia makes enhancing space situational awareness (SSA) crucial for safe operations in space. SSA prevents collisions by monitoring, tracking, and predicting the movements of space objects, such as satellites and debris, in orbit. Effective SSA requires access to and analysis of the growing volume of orbital data from the recent surge in commercial satellite launches. This can be a challenging task for new players due to a lack of adequate technology, infrastructure, and policy. A shared SSA framework is vital for emerging space nations in Southeast Asia to maintain a sustainable and secure space environment.
Southeast Asia’s Expanding and Connected Space Industry
Southeast Asia’s steadily growing space industry is projected to contribute $100 billion USD to the region’s GDP by 2030, driven by the increasing usage of satellite data analysis and applications. Regional collaboration through satellite engineering, policymaking, and private industry investment has significantly advanced space capabilities in Southeast Asia. This year, India and the Philippines signed 14 Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) that include space cooperation and satellite development.
Growth in the space industry strengthens Southeast Asia’s capacity to address shared environmental issues. The Philippine Space Agency stated that space technologies have bolstered natural disaster observations, relief efforts, and climate change research. Multilateral approaches through the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) include the Sentinel Asia initiative for disaster management using Earth observation satellites and the Space Applications for Environment framework, which observes environmental changes. The combined 60 satellites launched by Southeast Asian countries, mainly from Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand, may seem like a small number compared to the thousands of American satellites in orbit. Nevertheless, the services provided by satellites and future industry growth make space essential for Southeast Asian nations.
Facing Space Congestion
Improper space traffic management (STM) increases the risk of debris pollution from collisions in orbital space. The rise of small satellite constellations in the commercial sector contributes to clutter in low Earth orbit (LEO). This is especially problematic since most remote sensing, communications, and weather satellites operate in LEO. Space debris does not disappear as time passes; the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) reports that hundreds of debris pieces from the 2009 Iridium-Kosmos crash are still in orbit today. International efforts to clean up space debris have been challenging due to Article VII in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST), which states that the launching nation is responsible for its spacecraft and any damage it causes, rendering it difficult for states to clean up debris that does not belong to them. While efforts such as the 2019 UN Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities exist, most are voluntary and lack the enforcement mechanisms necessary for large-scale action.
In addition to tackling debris cleanup, one way to ensure safe operations is by enhancing SSA. SSA relies on a global network of sensors, including radars and telescopes, to gather data. Historically, the United States has provided a majority of object tracking data for public use through Space Track from its Space Surveillance Network, which the U.S. Space Force is responsible for. However, a country’s geography limits the portion of the sky that it can observe, and the United States cannot be solely responsible for STM. It is in the best interest of new space actors to take an active part in monitoring the increasingly cluttered environment.
A Patchwork of Existing Frameworks
A multinational SSA effort is not without precedent. The Space Safety Programme (S2P) of the European Space Agency (ESA) is the largest civilian SSA initiative, funded by 14 of the 23 member states of the ESA. One of S2P’s missions, detecting asteroids and comets that may impact Earth, has led to the construction of the Flyeye network of ground-based telescopes. Additionally, the U.S. Space Force, the United Kingdom, and Australia recently formed the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) partnership in 2023 to monitor small objects in geosynchronous orbit. The 22-year trilateral agreement aims to build a network of sensors at three sites, with the first being completed in Western Australia last December.
While mitigating space congestion is a recognized priority, broad cooperation among Southeast Asian countries on the issue is lacking. Last year, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue emphasized a commitment to SSA by continuously sharing Earth observation data. However, although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has a long history of sharing, researching, and utilizing remote sensing data, it has struggled to set overarching policies and standards for regional space development. The ASEAN Sub-Committee on Space Technology and Applications (SCOSA)’s current objectives, set to expire this year, include the goals of sharing space technology and applications, such as navigation, communication, and EO, but do not mention STM.
Historically, Southeast Asian countries have relied on partnerships with advanced spacefaring nations such as China, the European Union, and the United States for SSA. In 2018, Thailand signed a data-sharing agreement with the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) to support Thai military and space activities. Nations such as the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and others have also signed their own bilateral agreements with USSTRATCOM. These efforts are insufficient to address the growing demand for SSA from an expanding space economy, and they do not include all regional space actors.
Southeast Asian Opportunities
Developing SSA capacity is possible for Southeast Asian nations. ASEAN members have emphasized their desire for the transparent and peaceful use of space and to include smaller nations in the conversation. Domestically, Southeast Asian nations have enacted an increasing quantity of space legislation to participate in and comply with international space safety regulations. In 2023, under SCOSA, the Philippines led a SSA training session, with Thailand and Malaysia participating, to learn from ESA and Japan. These unilateral commitments and aforementioned cases of bilateral cooperation form the blueprint for a formal SSA framework. A S2P equivalent model should be established in existing regional groups such as ASEAN or APRSAF.
SSA capabilities should not be left to the discretion of individual countries, as they are unable to manage space traffic alone. While a nation’s government may invest in SSA for surveillance and defense needs, these programs prioritize threats to national security rather than supervising global space traffic in different orbits. Additionally, spacecraft operators struggle to determine what is considered “too close” between space objects for collision risk. SSA programs, which draw from various data sources and modeling approaches, can result in varied conclusions, rendering maneuver coordination difficult. This makes frameworks that facilitate agreement on space traffic maneuver standards critical. For example, a government satellite may be more sensitive than a civilian about the intentions of another nation’s spacecraft. Despite distinct priorities, the military will still benefit from a civilian SSA framework that establishes and monitors safe behavior.
The absence of a standard protocol for orbital activity is an ongoing global issue that can be mitigated through regional coordination between Southeast Asian governments and the commercial sector. Incorporating the private industry taps into its capabilities while granting it access to the growing SSA market. On a global scale, the Space Data Association (SDA) is a formal association of civil, commercial, and military spacecraft operators that share satellite operation data. It has partnered with Spanish company GMV to upgrade and operate its space traffic coordination platform in 2026. Regionally, U.S. company LeoLabs and Singaporean firm ST Engineering Geo-Insights signed an MoU to build a radar and SSA center. This partnership follows the Singapore government’s pledge of $45 million USD more over the next two years to its space technology program.
Relying on overlapping individual efforts and bilateral agreements fails to provide a comprehensive picture of the space environment. Standard operating norms can remove the uncertainty and danger of not knowing the intentions and movements of other spacecraft. Increasing regional SSA capabilities fosters safe behaviors with partners, identifies suspicious activity, and creates procedures to address collisions or hostile conduct. A shared SSA framework also provides room for partners to communicate and avoid misunderstandings about their respective space behavior. Current SSA capabilities are held by established space powers such as the United States, the European Union, Russia, and China, who have their own national system and data-sharing agreements with others. Still, these nations cannot be expected to monitor every single movement in space, especially since space is becoming more congested. No matter how sophisticated a nation’s SSA data gathering is, the risk of a delay in communication or withholding of information during an incoming collision affects how involved parties react. The availability of LEO orbital slots is finite and a crash could trigger the Kessler effect, where the amount of debris from a chain reaction of collisions may render Earth’s orbital space unusable. As the Southeast Asian space industry grows and actors seek a safe operating environment for both the military and commercial sectors, SSA collaboration should become a pressing priority.
Views expressed are the author’s own and do not represent the views of GSSR, Georgetown University, or any other entity. Image Credit: ISPI