For a glimpse of the 'new space' race, look to the UAE

Announcements about a new satellite manufacturing plant in Abu Dhabi and plans to build sub-orbital platforms were made at this week's Make it in the Emirates. Antonie Robertson / The National

When it comes to space exploration, there is little doubt that things have changed since the intense competition of the Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union last century. From a time when a single rocket launch could capture the attention of millions, and when superpowers developed their own astronauts, spacecraft and technology in carefully guarded isolation, the world is seeing the emergence of a different model: the so-called New Space Economy (NSE).

Characterised by the involvement of entrepreneurs, private tech companies and venture capital – as well as an increasing number of countries, big and small – the NSE is a departure from the time when government-backed space agencies and aerospace contractors dominated. Some of this change is economic, some of it is technical but it is a development that looks set to stay.

For a glimpse of how this new paradigm is unfolding, a close look at this week’s Make it in the Emirates event in Abu Dhabi reveals how a relative newcomer to the space sector is both embracing and shaping this change. On Wednesday it was announced that an Earth observation satellite manufacturing centre is to be established in the UAE capital. In a collaboration between Abu Dhabi Investment Office and the emirate's Space 42 tech company, the centre will help create a national space workforce with hands-on industrial expertise.

The day before, Space42 revealed that is will begin to manufacture prototypes of platforms that will operate thousands of metres above the Earth's surface this year. And on Friday, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and US-based Firefly Aerospace signed a strategic agreement to provide payload delivery services for the Rashid 2 Rover, part of the Emirates Lunar Mission scheduled for next year.

UAE's Etihad-Sat launches into orbit aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

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These are just the latest examples of how UAE businesses and state-backed investors are working in partnership to explore the opportunities presented by the space sector in a 21st-century way. Another is the country's focus on developing worker expertise in components, maintenance and the AI-powered technology needed to operate successful space missions. For example, an academy run by the UAE Space Agency offers graduates in Stem subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths – the chance to sharpen their skills for a career in the space sector.

Thriving in the NSE is also about enhancing national priorities – building scientific and technical expertise as part of a profitable sector – while collaborating with other countries and private businesses. Emirati astronauts have trained in Russian and American facilities and in March, Etihad-SAT – the UAE's first Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite – was successfully launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

 The world is seeing the emergence of a different model: the so-called New Space Economy

Amid the long list of positives associated with this approach, including increased economic diversification and the creation of future-proof technologies, there remain issues to be faced. Critiques of the NSE model have raised concerns about the need to update outdated international space treaties and the high entry bar for developing nations. Here too however, the UAE is shaping the change with the Emirates operating as a commercial hub with strong economic links to the global south.

Owing to its relative ubiquity, the days when a space flight would have people glued to their TV screens are probably gone, while they become more common place and available online. But as more countries look at the UAE’s path for inspiration to take part in the “new space” race, that sense of achievement and excitement will only grow.