Perigee Aerospace said on the 6th that it signed a contract with the Philippine Space Agency for phase two of the "sounding rocket (micro rocket) cooperation program."
The project is a follow-up to phase one, conducted in Oct.–Nov. last year. It aims to help engineers from the Philippine Space Agency gain end-to-end experience in sounding rocket operations, including launch vehicle assembly, system integration, testing, and launch preparation.
Ten engineers selected by the Philippine Space Agency will take part in the training. After receiving hands-on training at Perigee's facilities in Korea on the assembly, testing, and operating procedures of the "Blue Whale 0.1" sounding rocket, they plan to conduct a test launch in the Philippines. The two sides are pushing for the first test sounding rocket launch within Philippine territory.
Blue Whale 0.1 is a liquid-propellant rocket that uses liquid oxygen and ethanol as propellants. From 2021 to 2022, it conducted three test launches on Jeju Island.
Perigee plans to use this program as an opportunity to build experience operating launch vehicles overseas. It also intends to expand related cooperation in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, based on on-site training and test launches.