Emirates is becoming a space tourism hub

1. Going to space on your own

Private space tourism is here to stay, thanks to the work of US space companies. SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic all do amazing things that make the rest of the world want to do the same, especially the richest countries.

Anna Hazlett and John B. Sheldon from the Dubai-based space company AzurX are supporters of building a space tourism hub in the UAE. They list a number of key features that would allow the Middle Eastern country to launch space tourism facilities and runways, astronaut training centres, and other things.

“The country has a good climate all year, good air connections across its 10 commercial airports that connect two-thirds of the world’s population within an eight-hour flight, regional centres for business, education, culture, and tourism, a world-class hospitality and entertainment industry, and a proud history in space,” the two said.

2. The UAE government is working with Blue Origin.

The private sector has asked the UAE’s government to invest in space tours for private tourists. The UAE’s government is also working to make space tourism a reality, with the help of private companies from outside the country.

In October of 2017, Abdulla bin Touq, who was the Minister of Economy, said that the government was working with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin to bring space tourism to the country. At the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai last year, Touq met with Blue Origin’s Vice President Brent Sherwood. With the deal, the US space company wants to build a spaceport in the desert of the UAE for suborbital flights and reach more customers.

The ministry is working with its partners to make an open economic ecosystem that attracts investments to target sectors and encourages innovative companies to support sustainable development and make an advanced investment environment.

The minister also said that the government wants to use Blue Origin’s leading expertise in space manufacturing and low-Earth orbit flight services to help the UAE’s plans.

For example, the UAE Astronaut Program didn’t start until 2017 to train and prepare a team of Emiratis to go to space for scientific missions. The UAE made history in 2019 when it sent Maj. Al Mansouri, the first Arab astronaut, to the International Space Station for an eight-day stay.

3. Investments in space by the UAE

So far, the UAE has spent 22 billion dirhams on space projects. The sector employs more than 3,200 people, and there are 57 space companies and organisations in the country. There are five new companies and research centres for space science. The UAE has traded a total of Dh190 billion worth of aerospace vehicles and their parts outside of the country.

“Today, the UAE is home to a number of large space companies, giving start-ups great chances to take advantage of the potential of working outside of Earth’s orbit,” said Minister Touq.

We will keep working to get companies that work in this field to join us in growing and improving the UAE’s space economy.

Hazlett and Sheldon, who support more investments in space, say that a world-class space tourism hub will help build the UAE’s reputation as an advanced global space power. This will allow the UAE to become the place of choice for space tourism operators, manufacturers, SMEs, start-ups, and hundreds of thousands of people who want to go to space.