MBA students from ESSEC, Insead, the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University will compete to build the best business model for EADS Astrium.
Singapore will play a key role in helping a French space company launch its first commercial space flight.
For starters, home-grown companies will be roped in by Astrium, the space arm of French aerospace giant European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, to build and launch the 'demonstrator' model of the space plane by the end of the year.
Next month, Master of Business Administration (MBA) students from four business schools here will compete to come up with the best business model for the space plane operator.
Astrium, which aims to launch its first commercial space flight by 2017, is turning to Singapore because of the Republic's 'significant potential' to grow space tourism, said the firm's Asia representative, Mr Martin Robillard, on Thursday.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the two-day Global Space & Technology Convention here which ends today.
Mr Robillard disclosed that Astrium is 'finalising deals' with Singapore companies to design and build the small-scale demonstrator space plane, which will be about 3m to 4m long.
It is understood that a deal is likely to be inked at next week's Singapore Airshow.
As part of the agreement, the expertise of local researchers and engineers will be tapped to design the avionics of the space plane and test its aerodynamics and glide capability.
The demonstrator space plane will have no engines, unlike the actual aircraft which will use turbofan engines as well as a rocket engine. The test flight by the year-end will thus require a helicopter to lift the demonstrator model about 3km off the ground, and then drop it to see how it glides.
Astrium has not disclosed where it will base its fleet of space planes but Singapore's Changi Airport has been marked as a possibility. If the plans do take off, it could rival British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which is to launch the world's first commercial space flight next year.
Already, the British space-tourism airline has sold nearly 500 tickets worldwide, with nine being bought by customers here. They include a Singaporean businessman, his wife and two children who reportedly paid US$1 million (S$1.2 million) for four seats on the historic flight.
Passengers on the Astrium space plane, which can take up to four passengers and a pilot, will have to pay about €200,000 (S$330,000) each for an hour-long ride that includes 10 minutes of weightlessness.
MBA students from Essec, Insead, the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University might just have a say in how Astrium's business will be run. Their plans will have to include the costs of building and maintenance of the space planes, as well as the recruitment of pilots.
They will be judged by Astrium's executives, as well as top executives from Singapore's Economic Development Board, ST Aerospace and the Singapore Space and Technology Association (SSTA).
Mr Jonathan Hung, SSTA's president, said this is a 'perfect opportunity' to showcase Singapore's new generation of top business minds and promote space tourism in Singapore.
By Jermyn Chow, Defence Correspondent
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