Ukraine might help Malaysia launch its satellite
“We are well aware of Ukraine’s capabilities, especially in the sphere of providing services relating to orbiting satellites. Thus we are very interested in making arrangements with your country for a future launch of a Malaysian satellite. We have already used a Ukrainian- made Dnipro carrier rocket to put our micro-satellite weighing fifty kilograms into orbit. This satellite has been working for three years without any problems.”
“Will your country use Ukraine’s services to launch the new Malaysian satellite, Razak?”
“We are developing this satellite jointly with South Korea. However, thus far we haven’t found a partner who would launch it. Unlike our previous satellite, this one will weigh up to two tons. The new spacecraft will be an Earth observation satellite. For this particular reason we have come to Ukraine to hear its proposals relating to this project.”
“When could the decision on the launch of the satellite using a Ukrainian carrier rocket be made?”
“We hope this will happen early next year.”
“Have our countries signed an agreement on cooperation in the space sector?”
“Not yet. But we plan to sign it. In the near future we will sign a Memorandum on Mutual Understanding Between Ukraine and Malaysia on Scintific andTechnical Cooperation, including cooperation in the space sector. We expect the document on cooperation in the sphere of space research to be signed by the National Space Agencies of Ukraine and Malaysia in early 2004. I see many spheres where Ukraine and Malaysia could cooperate on space research programs. We view Ukraine, which has a great potential in this sphere, as a leader and partner.”
“Is your country interested in using space for military purposes, in particular for surveillance?”
“Presently we use our satellites for civilian purposes. However, it is an open secret that a satellite can be used for both civilian and military purposes. We do not call our spacecraft surveillance satellites. We will build satellites mainly for civilian purposes, which, of course, can be used by the military. At this stage we cannot build heavy satellites. And considering that Malaysia is often overcast with clouds, we must equip satellites with radar. We would like to monitor forest fires that are a frequent occurrence in Malaysia. We would also like to have our own telecommunications satellites, since our country relies heavily on communications.”
“Is Malaysia interested in building a space center on its territory or elsewhere in Southeast Asia?”
“We know that Malaysia has a perfect location for launching satellites. Kuala-Lumpur would not mind to a space center being built on our territory. We understand, however, that it takes significant investments to build the required infrastructure and launch pad. It would be worthwhile for us to make such investments if we had our own carrier rockets. At most, we could offer a launch pad for other countries’ carrier rockets, for example those of Ukraine. But we will not have such a facility for a long time yet. Indonesia also has an adequate site for a space center. We know that Russia has been for years negotiating with Australia a possibility of building a space center on Australian territory. Perhaps the whole region of Southeast Asia would benefit from its own space center. But thus far we haven’t considered this issue seriously.”
