By BlueShift | 2025-02-11

Mongolia is increasingly emerging as an intriguing partner for the Western space industry.

Its strategic location -- nestled between China and Russia -- positions it as a key geopolitical player, while its vast natural resources add to its appeal for international collaboration.

The landlocked country has made a concerted effort to diversify its diplomatic and business partners beyond its two powerful neighbors, particularly investing in space programming and cooperation with France's Thales Alenia Space and US-based SpaceX.

A helpful third neighbor

This so-called third neighbor policy has been a cornerstone of Mongolia's international relations.

In February 2024, Ulaanbaatar announced that it was in talks with SpaceX to launch Mongolia's first national telecommunication satellite, an opportunity to expand its digital infrastructure. Thales Alenia Space is constructing the satellite.

The high-performance Ku Band satellite -- named Chinggis Sat after the founder of the Mongolian empire, Chinggis (Genghis) Khan -- is primarily tasked with improving the availability of high-speed internet even in Mongolia's most rural areas and among its nomadic communities, enabling access to telemedicine, online education and online government services from anywhere in the country.

The satellite will have even broader responsibilities. With enhanced connectivity, Mongolia hopes to bolster its disaster management and emergency response and support scientific research.

As of last March, less than a quarter of Mongolia's territory had telecom coverage.

"Launching our own satellite marks a defining moment for Mongolia's journey towards becoming a spacefaring nation," Mongolian Minister of Digital Development and Communications Uchral Nyam-Osor said in a statement in February 2024.

"It signifies Mongolia's commitment to fostering a thriving domestic space industry and its pursuit of a digital future driven by cutting-edge innovation."

Mongolia's space ambitions

Mongolia launched its first commercial satellites last March.

A SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket launched two low-earth-orbit nanosatellites into orbit from the company's Vandenberg Space Force Base launch site in California. Mongolian space-tech startup ONDO Space constructed the satellites.

Mongolia granted SpaceX a license to provide high-speed internet access via Starlink in July 2023 -- a move that required legislative changes and opened the floodgates for cooperation with foreign partners.

The Mongolian government has made a concerted effort to attract the space industry, hoping to develop a "sandbox" with policy support and a flexible regulatory environment supportive of research and development.

"Mongolia presents immense potential for businesses in this dynamic and rapidly expanding sector," Nayam-Osor said last March.

"Introducing a regulatory 'sandbox' within a comprehensive legislative framework aimed at facilitating the business landscape for cutting-edge technologies will ensure that the government actively fosters ongoing growth and innovation across key domains such as the space economy, artificial intelligence, IoT and other emerging technologies."

IoT, the "internet of things," refers to the connection of devices within everyday objects via the internet, enabling them to share data.

Bringing satellites to the steppe

Mongolia's sandbox aspirations are already paying off.

In February, ONDO Space detailed to CNN its efforts to develop a satellite-based system that would allow Mongolia's nomadic herders to track free-roaming livestock across the steppes.

Last March, the company launched its first two CubeSats, nanosatellites capable of low data transmission, and it plans to launch 10 more by the end of 2025.

"By 2027 we will have launched 176, which will allow continuous, real time, reliable connectivity around the world no matter where you are," ONDO Space CEO Namuun Bold told CNN.

In addition to Mongolia's favorable regulatory environment and its cadre of talented engineers, "our actual geographic location of Mongolia makes it easier for us to procure various parts from around the world because we're not limited by trade restrictions," she said.