Singapore Airshow Gains Altitude with Inaugural Space Summit

The 10th edition of the biennial Singapore Airshow opens this week with a new addition to its program: the inaugural Space Summit, a two-day conference and exhibition dedicated to the rapidly expanding global space economy. 

Organized by Experia Events, the same company behind the Singapore Airshow, the Space Summit takes place on February 2 and 3 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands in downtown Singapore. 

Under the theme “New Frontiers: Shaping a Responsible and Inclusive Space Future,” the Space Summit agenda includes plenary sessions and panel discussions focused on space infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, sustainability, and commercialization pathways. 

The inaugural Space Summit arrives at a pivotal moment for the global space sector and for the Asia-Pacific region, Leck Chet Lam, managing director of Experia Events, told AIN. 

“The global space economy is really growing at a very fast pace,” he said, citing research from analysts at consulting firm McKinsey who projected the global space economy will be worth $1.8 trillion in 2035, nearly triple the $630 billion it estimated for 2023. With a projected average compound annual growth rate of 9%, the global space economy is growing about twice as fast as the global GDP. 

Meanwhile, “Asia-Pacific is one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world, and one of the things that these growing economies are looking for are space-related services,” Lam said. For example, the region has seen increasing demand for satellite-based services such as GPS navigation, communications, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and national security applications. 

“There's a very huge drive with a huge demand in this growing part of the world for space technologies and space applications, so that's also another key driver for us in wanting to launch this show,” Lam said.

For Singapore Airshow attendees, the Space Summit offers an early-week opportunity to engage with an adjacent sector that increasingly overlaps with aviation, defense, and advanced manufacturing—underscoring how space is becoming an integral part of the broader aerospace ecosystem.