Asia's space ambitions are evolving from scientific prestige to strategic domains encompassing economic security and sovereignty. The 'NewSpace' economy increasingly views outer space as critical for national interests.

For decades, Asia’s ambitions in outer space were closely associated with scientific discovery, technological prestige and national symbolism. Space programmes were designed to demonstrate engineering capability, economic modernisation and geopolitical influence. Today, outer space is undergoing a deeper transformation. It is no longer viewed merely as a frontier for exploration; increasingly, it is seen as a strategic domain tied to sovereignty, economic security and geopolitical...