President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the Philippines is set to launch its own rocket into space next year as the country moves toward developing its own spaceport.
In his fifth State of the Nation Address today, July 27, Marcos said Cagayan is being eyed as the country’s spaceport, with the planned launch in partnership with a South Korean aerospace company.
“A sounding rocket launch test is slated for next year. Yes, we are going to launch a rocket into space,” Marcos said.
The announcement follows efforts by the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) to develop local rocket launch capabilities through a partnership with South Korea’s Perigee Aerospace.
Perigee Aerospace is a South Korean space startup founded in 2018 that develops small-satellite launch vehicles.
In March 2026, PhilSA signed a memorandum of understanding with Perigee Aerospace, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), and Ascend International Gateway Inc. to establish a framework for rocket development training, and experimental launches in the Philippines.
PhilSA engineers underwent small launch vehicle training with Perigee in South Korea from October to November 2025.
The program included hands-on training using Perigee’s Blue Whale 0.1, a liquid-propellant sounding rocket platform.
Marcos says PH will launch its own rocket in 2027
By Dawn Solano
Screenshot from The Philippine STAR's YouTube livestream.
