PH TO LAUNCH FIRST LIQUID-FUELED SOUNDING ROCKET IN 2027

Courtesy: Presidential Communications Office

The Philippines is officially entering the space race with plans to launch its first liquid-fueled sounding rocket from Cagayan in 2027. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the milestone project during his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), marking a major shift from utilizing foreign space services to developing domestic launch capabilities.

Strategic Pacific Spaceport

The suborbital demonstration flight will take off from the Cagayan Economic Zone. Situated near the equator, the launch site faces the Pacific Ocean, offering optimal fuel efficiency and safe over-water payload recovery routes.

The mission will carry a locally built scientific payload weighing up to 2 kilograms to a minimum altitude of 5 kilometers. Unlike massive orbital vehicles, sounding rockets spend 5 to 20 minutes in suborbital flight to gather atmospheric data and test equipment before returning to Earth.

Technical Partnerships

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) is spearheading the project alongside the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA).

To bridge local technical gaps, the government has partnered with local firm Ascend International Gateway Inc. and South Korean aerospace developer Perigee Aerospace. Filipino engineers are currently undergoing intensive technology transfer programs to master liquid-propellant systems, which are highly complex but vital for future orbital rockets.

Boosting the Space Economy

For years, the Philippines relied on foreign vehicles, such as American and Japanese rockets, to deploy its Diwata microsatellites. The 2027 sounding rocket launch serves as the foundational test flight for a future commercial spaceport. Officials aim to position the country as a primary launch and manufacturing hub for the rapidly expanding Southeast Asian space economy.