China and Malaysia to study international equatorial spaceport project

China is exploring establishing its first overseas launch site with a proposed equatorial spaceport in Malaysia, carrying strategic, economic, and geopolitical implications, El.kz cites spacenews.com.

The China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) signed a letter of intent with Pahang State Development Corporation (PKNP) and Lestari Angkasa Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian private company actively involved in the development of the country’s space sector, April 15. 

The Malaysia state government has agreed to a one-year feasibility study for a proposed spaceport, in Pahang, accordingto New Strait Times. The project, named Pahang International Spaceport, could create more than 2,000 job opportunities, as well as spillover economic effects, including in the fields of tourism and research, according to the reports.

The spaceport would be near-equatorial, at around 3-4 degrees north latitude. Launching near the equator allows rockets to benefit from the Earth’s rotational speed, enabling heavier payloads and more efficient fuel usage.

If approved, the project could be completed in the next three-to-five years, according to a report from Bernama, a Malaysian state-owned news agency, citing state Investment, Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman Datuk Mohamad Nizar Najib.

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