Big news sometimes comes in small packages. This week it was reported that a Sharjah-built miniature satellite with a mission to boost the emirate's disaster and emergency response work is in final testing before its launch next year.
The development of Sharjah Sat-2 – a so-called Cubesat – is part of another significant year for the Emirates as it takes major strides in the global space race. The UAE's Rashid Rover 2 has passed performance checks in the US before its 2026 mission as the Emirates works towards becoming only the second country to land on the far side of the Moon.
The UAE’s rapid ascent as a player in space exploration is illustrative of a particularly 21st-century approach. Instead of building expensive, disposable launch vehicles with which to infrequently send crew and payloads into space, the Emirates has invested heavily in encouraging local scientific and technical talent, designing small, cost-effective satellites and forging productive international partnerships.
But this strategy, parts of which have been emulated by other emerging space powers, was largely possible due to a pivotal event that took place 10 years ago. On December 21, 2015, Elon Musk’s Space X made its first successful landing of a reusable booster rocket during an orbital launch. Once the rocket touched down at Florida’s Cape Canaveral, having delivered 11 commercial satellites into orbit, Mr Musk called it a “revolutionary moment”. His enthusiasm was shared by specialists in the UAE.
Speaking to The National, Masood Mahmood, then the chief executive of the Yahsat satellite operator, said he expected the “significant breakthrough” to bring down the cost of exploring space. “In conversations with them [Space X] they have told us their aim is to bring the cost of launch to a fraction of what it is today. I can say that the successful mission … is one step closer to that,” he added.
Guiding a rocket back from space to land safely on the Earth for its next mission was once the stuff of science fiction. Now it is an established part of modern space missions.
In the decade since that Falcon 9 rocket returned, ambitious countries were no longer confronted by the astronomical costs of running an entire launch programme. Instead, by working with commercial space operators, they could divert resources into developing human capital, technical know-how and more efficient payloads. Startups and universities have been able to send devices into space, and the increased frequency of launches has provided experts with reams of data with which to make future missions more successful and efficient.
No one can predict exactly what the next 10 years will bring but the UAE is committed to several major space projects. As well as next year’s Rashid Rover 2 mission to the Moon, work is well under way on the MBR Explorer, a 2,300kg craft being developed as part of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt. The Emirates’ astronaut corps continues to grow and train, and 2027 will see the launch of Gateway, Nasa's Moon-orbiting station on which the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai is a partner. As such steps become more frequent, it is worth remembering the eureka moments that got us here.
