SpaceX Nears Launch of Satellite Services in Bangladesh, Eyes May Rollout
Lauren Dreyer, SpaceX’s Vice-President for Global Engagement, met with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of the Earthna Summit in Doha on 23 April to discuss the final phase of bringing SpaceX’s satellite services to the country.
According to Apurba Jahangir, Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, the conversation focused on finalising details of the collaboration that is expected to launch in May.
Dreyer, a longtime associate of Elon Musk with two decades at SpaceX, expressed confidence about the initiative’s timeline. “We’re very close to the finish line. I’ve asked my team to be fully ready for a technical launch by May,” she said during the meeting.
Chief Adviser Yunus welcomed the development, noting growing public enthusiasm in Bangladesh. “It’s major news across the country. People are counting down. When it happens, it needs to be marked with a big celebration,” he said.
The plan includes a phased rollout, beginning with a technical launch and moving toward full-scale deployment, contingent on resolving a few remaining technical and administrative matters.
The possibility of integrating PayPal, another company co-founded by Musk, is also under consideration to facilitate digital transactions for SpaceX services within Bangladesh.
Dreyer noted that the collaboration had been exceptionally smooth. “From the beginning, this has been one of the most well-organised initiatives we’ve been involved with,” she told Yunus.
The meeting was also attended by key government figures, including Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, and Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs Lamiya Morshed.