Capacity building for the space sector: Microsatellite as a way forward. The example of the university of sains Malaysia

Due to the large capital investment and high risk generally associated with space activities only a limited number of countries have been able to benefit from the use of space technology. Space technology is often seen as an important tool to allow the transition from a developing country to a developed country. As Malaysia's vision is to be a developed country by 2020, it need to enhance the capability and capacity of its space technology at an accelerated pace. At this stage, Malaysia can be considered as new in space activities, since the first satellite successfully launched into orbit was only in 1997. This paper describes a microsatellite project undertaken in a university environment in Malaysia by the School of Aerospace Engineering from the University of Sains Malaysia (USM) where the students will be participating in the development and operations. Such involvement aim at forming an integral part of the students education extending the traditional way of teaching with practical classes thus providing hands-on experience and offering skills and experience needed by the future Malaysian space workforce, and to expand Malaysian space capacity building.