THE Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) is advancing national technological self-reliance through space data utilization initiatives. Its primary hardware mission is the development of the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment, a 130-kilogram satellite designed for precision agriculture, coastal security and disaster risk management. PhilSA also leads the PINAS project to mobilize space data across local government units and civil society.
This direction received executive backing during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent State of the Nation Address, when he announced plans to establish the country’s gateway spaceport in Cagayan province aimed at expanding the national aerospace footprint. He framed domestic space capabilities as vital to future economic growth, regional security and infrastructure development.
PhilSA is laying the technical groundwork to build indigenous capabilities. In partnership with South Korea’s Perigee Aerospace, it plans to launch our first liquid-fueled sounding rocket carrying a domestic payload. This initial suborbital test serves as an operational stepping stone toward developing a commercial spaceport. The agency collaborates with the European Union in establishing a Copernicus Mirror Site to strengthen climate monitoring and environmental resilience nationwide.
To accelerate its spacefaring development, PhilSA can look to India as a key strategic partner for bilateral cooperation and technological exchange. By partnering with the India Space Research Organization (ISRO), the Philippines can gain access to proven low-cost engineering, turnkey satellite manufacturing expertise and shared Global South space priorities.
India’s space program stands as a global model for cost-effective planetary exploration. Renowned for achieving high-impact programs on disciplined budgets, ISRO made history by becoming the first space agency to successfully land a craft near the lunar South Pole alongside launching another satellite to study the sun.
ISRO is undergoing a massive expansion under its Space Vision 2047 framework. Ongoing priorities include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, designed to independently launch Indian astronauts into low Earth orbit. Deep-space objectives include the Venus Orbiter Mission, the lunar sample-return mission and an eventual crewed lunar landing targeted for 2040.
Skyroot Aerospace is a private manufacturer headquartered in Hyderabad that was founded in 2018 by two former ISRO scientists. Spearheading India’s commercial launch revolution, Skyroot designed the Vikram rocket family tailored for on-demand satellite deployment. The company made history in 2022 by launching the Vikram-S, India’s first privately developed suborbital rocket. It defied global odds by reaching orbit on its maiden attempt — a feat that took international giants such as SpaceX four tries to perfect.
Skyroot’s achievement established India as the third country to have private orbital launch capability next to the United States and China. It effectively shattered legacy boundaries and repositioned India from a government-dependent space explorer into an agile, commercial space powerhouse. Skyroot is recognized as India’s first space-tech unicorn, currently valued at over $1 billion after securing major global backings. It can produce one rocket per month, with plans to scale to one launch per week.
Partnership with India
Beyond mission execution, India maintains a robust scientific research program advancing astrophysics, space weather and atmospheric sciences. Anchored by institutions like the Physical Research Laboratory and the Raman Research Institute, ISRO operates dedicated space-based observatories alongside ground infrastructure.
Key achievements include AstroSat, a multi-wavelength space telescope launched to observe black holes and neutron stars, and XPoSat, designed to measure x-ray polarization from extreme cosmic radiation sources. These scientific platforms allow researchers to analyze complex galactic phenomena, solar dynamics and upper-atmosphere physics.
As an emerging spacefaring nation, the Philippines can draw crucial operational and strategic lessons from India’s space trajectory. ISRO mastered high-value, low-cost engineering through frugal innovation — cultivating domestic industrial vendor networks rather than relying on expensive turnkey imports. PhilSA can mirror this by integrating local manufacturing and electronics supply chains into satellite fabrication and sounding rocket assembly.
Furthermore, India’s policy shift toward private space enterprises like Skyroot accelerated technology commercialization — an approach PhilSA can adopt using public-private partnerships to build its planned Cagayan spaceport. It could also emulate how India built national support through an applications-first strategy, demonstrating clear societal return on investment in agriculture, land management and disaster management before pursuing deep-space exploration.
Direct collaboration between the Philippines and India presents a transformative model for democratizing space access across the Global South. Grounded in bilateral agreements on outer space cooperation signed between PhilSA and ISRO, both nations can combine India’s proven launch ecosystem and satellite manufacturing capabilities with the Philippines’ strategic equatorial geography.
By co-developing low-cost satellite platforms, exchanging Earth observation data and exploring joint launch operations from proposed Philippine spaceport sites, Manila and New Delhi can establish an independent space corridor. This partnership will enable developing nations across the Indo-Pacific region to bypass high-cost Western and Chinese space monopolies, securing sovereign access to crucial orbital data for climate adaptation, maritime domain awareness and disaster mitigation.
National space programs in both the developed countries and the emerging spacefaring powers are no longer merely symbols of geopolitical prestige. In essence, they have become indispensable engines for climate resilience and global sustainability.
The author is The Manila Times Sustainability Magazine’s executive editor. He is a member of the Finex Foundation’s Environment Committee and its Sustainability Handbook’s Editorial Board.