One to be chosen by April 2015 for Aug 9 launch on Singapore's 50th birthday
By David Ee, The Straits Times, 7 Feb 2014
A 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL, a former soldier who has climbed Mount Everest and Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots are among 26 Singaporeans vying to become the first citizen to pilot a craft into near space - more than 20km above sea level.
Seven of them were picked to face the nation for the first time yesterday at the Global Space & Technology Convention (GSTC) held at Sheraton Towers.
Whittled down from an initial list of 126 are 22 men, 20 of whom are currently pilots for SIA. The women include two Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduates and a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the United States.
One of the 26 will be chosen by April next year to be launched into the atmosphere on National Day, Aug 9, 2015 - Singapore's 50th birthday - according to plans by the Science Centre Board, the Singapore Space and Technology Association (SSTA), and IN.Genius, a local firm focusing on high-tech energy solutions.
The project is privately funded and has not received backing from the Government, though organisers still hope to secure this. They have so far declined to reveal funding details. The vessel will be a helium stratospheric balloon similar to one flown by Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner in his 2012 record free fall from 39km.
Space and rocket enthusiast and Tanjong Katong Girls' School student Cherie Lim, 15, said she would strive to be fearless if chosen, despite her youth. "Not everyone gets to do this. I'm looking at it as an adventure." The daughter of an aeronautical engineer, who said her parents are supportive, plans to get her pilot licence after her year-end examinations.
SIA pilot Kevin Lee, 35, said there was some "competitiveness" between the remaining hopefuls. He felt that his experience in the air and as a naval diver might give him an edge, especially with the gruelling rounds of selection tests still to come.
Space and rocket enthusiast and Tanjong Katong Girls' School student Cherie Lim, 15, said she would strive to be fearless if chosen, despite her youth. "Not everyone gets to do this. I'm looking at it as an adventure." The daughter of an aeronautical engineer, who said her parents are supportive, plans to get her pilot licence after her year-end examinations.
SIA pilot Kevin Lee, 35, said there was some "competitiveness" between the remaining hopefuls. He felt that his experience in the air and as a naval diver might give him an edge, especially with the gruelling rounds of selection tests still to come.
The 26 will be put through advanced confidence courses, deep diving, para-jumping and a helium balloon pilot course over the next year - with weaker candidates weeded out along the way.
But physical prowess is not the only requirement for a ticket to space. "I want to look for someone with heart, who wants to do this to make Singapore proud," said IN.Genius director Lim Seng, one of seven in the selection panel that also includes former chief defence scientist Lui Pao Chuen and former US Nasa engineer Timothy Kauffman.
But physical prowess is not the only requirement for a ticket to space. "I want to look for someone with heart, who wants to do this to make Singapore proud," said IN.Genius director Lim Seng, one of seven in the selection panel that also includes former chief defence scientist Lui Pao Chuen and former US Nasa engineer Timothy Kauffman.
Professor Lui said the choice would be a role model for Singaporeans. "He or she must demonstrate that they can dream about great things, and go through hardship to realise their dreams."
Mr Lim said the first plan is to launch the craft from a platform in the middle of Marina Bay. Plan B would be to take off from a ship in the South China Sea. The pilot would then spend "five to 10 hours" in flight in a pressurised capsule, he said, before landing off the southern coast of Sentosa in an electric-powered parafoil with a guidance system.
Consultant Lien Choong Luen, 36, who counts summiting Everest in 2010 as one of his finest individual triumphs, said: "This is one instance where I'm quite happy just to be in consideration. I'll be happiest if I see someone represent Singapore well."
* Local firm aims to put first Singaporean in space by May 2018
By Zhaki Abdullah, The Straits Times, 2 Feb 2018
A local firm's plan to send the first Singaporean into space may finally take off this year.
Technology firm In.Genius said the space flight, which has been in the works since 2013, will take place on May 15 in Alice Springs, Australia.
At a media briefing on Friday (Feb 2), company founder and director Lim Seng said the flight will involve launching a capsule into space using a high-altitude balloon.
He said a candidate to pilot the craft has been identified from a shortlist of 26 people, but declined to give any details.
Started in 2013, the project has the backing of the Science Centre Board and the Singapore Space and Technology Association (SSTA).
But it has been a bumpy ride for In.Genius.
By Zhaki Abdullah, The Straits Times, 2 Feb 2018
A local firm's plan to send the first Singaporean into space may finally take off this year.
Technology firm In.Genius said the space flight, which has been in the works since 2013, will take place on May 15 in Alice Springs, Australia.
At a media briefing on Friday (Feb 2), company founder and director Lim Seng said the flight will involve launching a capsule into space using a high-altitude balloon.
He said a candidate to pilot the craft has been identified from a shortlist of 26 people, but declined to give any details.
Started in 2013, the project has the backing of the Science Centre Board and the Singapore Space and Technology Association (SSTA).
But it has been a bumpy ride for In.Genius.
It had originally planned to conduct the flight in 2015 in Singapore, in conjunction with the Republic's 50th anniversary celebrations. But the plan was delayed when the firm was unable to buy a space capsule component and had to design and build it from scratch.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore also did not approve the firm's plan to launch its balloon here, citing possible safety risks to aircraft in Singapore airspace. This forced the firm to head to Australia instead.
Several candidates to pilot the space capsule had also backed out after being asked to pay for their training, which included a helium balloon pilot course and para-jumping.
Despite the snags, In.Genius pressed ahead and conducted two successful space flights at altitudes of more than 30km in 2016 in Alice Springs. It also obtained a space suit.
The team is now "all ready" to fly into space, said Mr Lim.
"We have permission to access space from Alice Springs, we have the spacesuit, we have three space capsules, we have perfected the life support system," he told reporters.
Being able to put a person in space opens up commercial and research possibilities for Singapore, he added.
Mr Lim declined to give details of the estimated cost of the mission. In an interview with The Straits Times in 2014, he had said it would cost between $5 million and $10 million, and that the firm had received funding from investors.
SSTA president Jonathan Hung said what In.Genius had done with a small team of six was an achievement in itself.
"Even where we are today is a milestone," he said.
SSTA president Jonathan Hung said what In.Genius had done with a small team of six was an achievement in itself.
"Even where we are today is a milestone," he said.
** Space entrepreneur upbeat about project despite delay in sending first Singaporean to space
Singaporean upbeat about project despite cancelled mission due to high winds
By Jonathan Pearlman, The Straits Times, In Alice Springs, 16 May 2018
For the past five years, Singaporean space entrepreneur Lim Seng has been working tirelessly - and spending millions of his own dollars - to send the first Singaporean into space from a remote site in central Australia.
The elaborate plan involves using a high-altitude helium balloon to launch a tiny capsule - containing a Singaporean astronaut - into the stratosphere.
The capsule would ascend above the Armstrong line, an altitude of about 20km, and reach a height of some 25km before being detached from the balloon and descending to Earth with a parachute.
Singaporean upbeat about project despite cancelled mission due to high winds
By Jonathan Pearlman, The Straits Times, In Alice Springs, 16 May 2018
The elaborate plan involves using a high-altitude helium balloon to launch a tiny capsule - containing a Singaporean astronaut - into the stratosphere.
The capsule would ascend above the Armstrong line, an altitude of about 20km, and reach a height of some 25km before being detached from the balloon and descending to Earth with a parachute.
But on Monday, just hours before Mr Lim was due to make history early yesterday, an unusually fierce wind crossing central Australia forced him to cancel the launch outside the town of Alice Springs.
One might expect Mr Lim to be distraught, if not devastated, by the news. But he showed no sign of defeat or weariness, as he held a team briefing and announced that the mission had been cancelled.
One might expect Mr Lim to be distraught, if not devastated, by the news. But he showed no sign of defeat or weariness, as he held a team briefing and announced that the mission had been cancelled.
Instead, the 57-year-old insisted that the project would continue and its cancellation was a vital part of the mission's lesson.
"I feel unlucky, I feel disappointed - but I am happy," he told The Straits Times.
"We proved that the whole system is working technically. We proved that we can do this as a team. We are technically confident. It boosted the morale of the team."
This seemingly outlandish project has had its share of hiccups.
It was not easy or cheap to find all the necessary components and equipment, including a space suit sourced from the United States.
It was also challenging to build a machine that could be expected to safely deliver the selected astronaut - Singaporean air force pilot Yip Chuang Syn - into space and back.
But nothing, it seemed, could deter Mr Lim.
Earlier this year, the firm he founded, In.Genius, declared that the project was finally ready and a suitable launch site had been found: a quiet spot in the Australian desert, about 29km from Alice Springs.
A team of 16 Singaporeans - including Mr Lim and his wife Polly - began to arrive in the town on April 25 and prepared for lift-off yesterday at 6am local time.
But on Monday, they learnt that the launch would be cancelled, probably until next April or May when the ground and air winds are next likely to be favourable.
Mr Lim said the arrival of the unseasonal winds was disappointing but the cancellation of the mission did not represent a failure. Cancelling to ensure safety, he said, was an inevitable part of such an unpredictable project.
The cancellation costs several hundred thousands of dollars. This included paying for 1.2 million litres of helium to be transported from Adelaide and Perth at a cost of about A$14,000 (S$14,030).
"It is not a waste of investment," he said. "It is another opportunity to get better at flight safety."
Mr Lim has worked at Singapore's Ministry of Defence, in various areas including developing its unmanned aerial vehicles programme, and at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, now known as Airbus Group.
Asked why he decided to pursue this project, he said: "I want to give back to the nation.
"It is very much about national pride," he said. "I have worked with smart people from all over the world… I always worked on futuristic projects. I wanted to pull a group of Singaporeans and work on it together."
Mr Lim's upbeat determination and single-minded devotion to his space mission appears to have found him some young supporters.
Pasted on the small capsule are pictures drawn by pre-school children from Singapore's Child at Street 11, an early years education centre which looks after children from diverse backgrounds.
After learning about the concept of love, the children concluded that love was infinite and images of it should be sent into space. Mr Lim embraced the plan and arranged for the images to be fixed to the capsule.
An artist educator who works with the centre, Ms Rosemarie Somaiah, travelled to Alice Springs for the launch. She told The Straits Times that the children "were very very excited" about sending messages to space.
Asked how she felt about the cancellation of the launch, she said: "The fact that it had to be postponed is in the nature of things. As Lim Seng says, the word failure is ridiculous. Without it you cannot have innovation or get somewhere."
Mr Lim is determined to go ahead with the launch next year. After that, he said, he would like to lift the capsule to above 45km and use it to break the world record for a high-altitude parachute jump, set by Mr Alan Eustace in 2014.
"You only have one life," Mr Lim said.
Related"I feel unlucky, I feel disappointed - but I am happy," he told The Straits Times.
"We proved that the whole system is working technically. We proved that we can do this as a team. We are technically confident. It boosted the morale of the team."
This seemingly outlandish project has had its share of hiccups.
It was not easy or cheap to find all the necessary components and equipment, including a space suit sourced from the United States.
It was also challenging to build a machine that could be expected to safely deliver the selected astronaut - Singaporean air force pilot Yip Chuang Syn - into space and back.
But nothing, it seemed, could deter Mr Lim.
Earlier this year, the firm he founded, In.Genius, declared that the project was finally ready and a suitable launch site had been found: a quiet spot in the Australian desert, about 29km from Alice Springs.
A team of 16 Singaporeans - including Mr Lim and his wife Polly - began to arrive in the town on April 25 and prepared for lift-off yesterday at 6am local time.
But on Monday, they learnt that the launch would be cancelled, probably until next April or May when the ground and air winds are next likely to be favourable.
Mr Lim said the arrival of the unseasonal winds was disappointing but the cancellation of the mission did not represent a failure. Cancelling to ensure safety, he said, was an inevitable part of such an unpredictable project.
The cancellation costs several hundred thousands of dollars. This included paying for 1.2 million litres of helium to be transported from Adelaide and Perth at a cost of about A$14,000 (S$14,030).
"It is not a waste of investment," he said. "It is another opportunity to get better at flight safety."
Mr Lim has worked at Singapore's Ministry of Defence, in various areas including developing its unmanned aerial vehicles programme, and at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, now known as Airbus Group.
Asked why he decided to pursue this project, he said: "I want to give back to the nation.
"It is very much about national pride," he said. "I have worked with smart people from all over the world… I always worked on futuristic projects. I wanted to pull a group of Singaporeans and work on it together."
Mr Lim's upbeat determination and single-minded devotion to his space mission appears to have found him some young supporters.
Pasted on the small capsule are pictures drawn by pre-school children from Singapore's Child at Street 11, an early years education centre which looks after children from diverse backgrounds.
After learning about the concept of love, the children concluded that love was infinite and images of it should be sent into space. Mr Lim embraced the plan and arranged for the images to be fixed to the capsule.
An artist educator who works with the centre, Ms Rosemarie Somaiah, travelled to Alice Springs for the launch. She told The Straits Times that the children "were very very excited" about sending messages to space.
Asked how she felt about the cancellation of the launch, she said: "The fact that it had to be postponed is in the nature of things. As Lim Seng says, the word failure is ridiculous. Without it you cannot have innovation or get somewhere."
Mr Lim is determined to go ahead with the launch next year. After that, he said, he would like to lift the capsule to above 45km and use it to break the world record for a high-altitude parachute jump, set by Mr Alan Eustace in 2014.
"You only have one life," Mr Lim said.
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