Innovation expo showcases Thailand’s ambitions for outer space
Thailand’s space agencies recently teamed up to hold an expo that aimed to promote innovation for sustainability and boost the country’s space missions.
The “KMITL Innovation Expo 2023” was organised by the King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) under the theme "World Towards Sustainability Together" to support Thai innovations on the global stage.
The expo, held from April 27 to 29, showcased 1,111 world-class innovations and research achievements from Thai individuals and KMITL. It also included 126 workshops and a forum for knowledge exchange.
Assoc Prof Dr Komsan Maleesee, president of KMITL, said the expo highlighted the institute’s collaborations with five major sectors, including space technology, organic agriculture, food innovation, new-era learning, and collaboration for Digital University.
He added that KMITL has collaborated with the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) and the Excellence Centre for Space Technology and Research (ECSTAR) to launch a small satellite through a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Constellation project, as one of the efforts to boost Thailand to be a space hub in the Asean region.
ECSTAR executive director Settapong Malisuwan said the collaboration with KMITL will also help make space technology accessible to more Thais via university-level education. This will help the country prepare for the changing global economy which is leaning towards space technology development.
“The LEO satellites that we launched can be further developed to have more practical uses, such as providing government and public health services to people in remote areas,” he said. “However, the development of space technology cannot be done by either KMITL or ECSTAR alone. It will require cooperation from related agencies and support from the government.”
