SONA 2026: PH to launch rocket from Cagayan in 2027

The Philippines is set to reach new heights in space as the country is planning to conduct a rocket launch test in Cagayan in 2027, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Monday.

Marcos said that the rocket launching will be done in partnership with a South Korean aerospace company.

"Cagayan is both geographically and economically primed to serve as our gateway to space and host the country’s first spaceport. A sounding rocket launch test is slated for next year. Yes, we are going to launch our rocket into space," he said in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

"This we will do in partnership with a South Korean aerospace company," he added.

The Philippines' first attempt in reaching the cosmos was in August 1997 with the launching of Agila 2, a geostationary telecommunications satellite. It was intended for TV and radio broadcasting, but was entirely a private endeavor.

In 2014, the Philippine government partnered with universities in Japan to launch the first microsatellite developed by Filipinos, Diwata-1.

In 2019, former president Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11363 which calls for a Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy which will serve as the country’s strategic roadmap for space development and will embody the country’s goal of becoming a space-capable and space-faring nation in the next 10 years.

The same law also created the Philippine Space Agency. —RF, GMA News