Mu Space and Advanced Technology Co., Ltd., operating under the name Mu Space Corp, is a manufacturer and internet service provider in Southeast Asia that was founded by James Yenbamroong in 2017.[1]
Native name | บริษัท มิว สเปซ แอนด์ แอดวานซ์ เทคโนโลยี จำกัด |
---|---|
Company type | Private |
Industry | Aerospace |
Founded | June 21, 2017[1] |
Founder | James Yenbamroong[1] |
Headquarters | Bangkok, Thailand 13°46′41″N 100°32′36″E / 13.7780794°N 100.5433054°E |
Services | |
Number of employees | 60 |
Website | www |
In December 2017, seven months after the initial founding of Mu Space Corp, Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission granted Mu Space Corp a 15-year license to provide satellite services in the country until 2032.[2]
Initially focused on the implementation of a nationwide broadband project using satellite technology,[1] Mu Space began conducting space-related research in 2018. In July 2018, the company sent microgravity experiments into space aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket,[3] and in September 2018 released a 3D rendering of their own spacesuit version for use by astronauts and space tourists.[4] The company has signed satellite launch contracts with Blue Origin, using the New Glenn rocket,[5] and with Relativity Space using Terran 1, the world's first rocket using additive manufacturing technology.[6]
The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement with TOT Public Company Limited (TOT) to engage in the space industry and 5G telecommunications services in September 2020.[7] They also sent an extra enormous payload in October 2020 for Space IDC project (by Blue Origin's New Shepard Suborbital), which incorporates a wide scope of electronic devices and sensors for the estimation.[8] The company launched a soft opening for its Future Factory (Factory 0) on 26 December 2020 for manufacturing and testing satellite prototypes.[9]
In February 2021, Mu Space signed another Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus Defense and Space, the world's leading company in spaceship manufacturing. The collaboration between Mu Space and Airbus focuses on cooperation on spacecraft and space technology in Thailand emphasizing several areas including Earth-observation, Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, Planetary missions, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).[10] Mu Space started expanding its manufacturing site to a larger factory (Factory 01) in early 2021.[11][12]
In early October 2021, Mu Space unveiled Factory 2, which can house significantly more production than Factory 0 and 1. Factory 2's purpose is to scale up its production, expand its workforce and focus production on various space components. Factory 2 has similar facilities to the older factories, featuring chemical laboratories, an electronic laboratory, and various other important facilities.[13]
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Communication had awarded Mu Space a license to provide satellite services to Thailand until 2032.[2] In 2018, Mu Space started to install equipment to deliver the satellite broadband service for government projects with the plan to use satellites of another company, SES.[14]
The company's "Space IDC" (Space Internet Data Center) is a joint project between Mu Space Corp and a Thai state-owned telecommunications company and aims to provide a data center service, combined with a server, located in outer space.[15]
Mu Space will also launch its first geostationary satellites with Blue Origin with a target date of 2021, in order to help provide space-based satellite services such as: broadband, broadcast, mobile, and satellite services to Thailand.[16]
In mid-2020, Mu Space sent an enormous payload cooperating with TOT Public Company Limited, which incorporated a wide scope of electronic devices and sensors for the estimation. The company also coordinated with a group of scientists, biologists, young students and famous Thai artists to send anti-disciplinary experiments for studying the effect of weightlessness and the understanding of DNA Storage Preservation.[17]
Mu Space assembled a team of engineers to help in the rescue mission to save the 12 boys and their football coach trapped inside the Tham Luang cave in Thailand. The company collaborated with Google and Weather Decision Technologies to provide the rescuers with weather forecast models.[18]