A business boom is helping the UAE take significant strides in the global space race, with private companies at the heart of progress in a flourishing sector worth billions of dirhams to the economy.
Sarah Bamatraf, a space policies and legislation specialist at the UAE Space Agency, said a concerted private sector push is proving crucial to growth.
She spoke to The National on Wednesday at the launch event of the 2025 Space Economic Survey, which will measure space activities from 2024 across the nation. The latest figures show that the sector is worth more than Dh22 billion ($5.9 billion).
“We now have more than 170 companies targeted in this year’s space economic survey, and every year we have seen an increase in that number,” she told The National.
“In Abu Dhabi, for example, there are more than 80 entities and in Dubai we have more than 40 that specialise in space and also companies that benefit from the sector.”
The survey, first launched in 2022, collects data on revenue, expenditure, workforce demographics and research spending.
It helps officials track how government and commercial enterprises are contributing to the space economy.
Abu Dhabi’s Space42, a space technology company that trades on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), is one of the UAE’s most prominent organisations, developing communication and Earth observation satellites, as well as advanced AI mapping tools.
Smaller companies are also playing a role, with some that helped with the country’s landmark Hope probe Mars mission. The private sector is helping develop parts for the UAE’s asteroid belt mission, scheduled for launch in 2028.
Private sector boost
Salem Al Qubaisi, director general of the UAE Space Agency, told The National that the latest indicators suggested the sector was flourishing.
When asked what stood out from the previous 2023 survey, he said the private sector.
“What we can see is that there is positive growth in the sector, especially economically,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see more companies venturing in the upstream. Most of the companies are in the downstream of the value chain.”
Most companies today focus on downstream services such as Earth observation data, satellite communications and analytics.
But the government is pushing for organisations to take on upstream activities, such as satellite manufacturing and mission hardware.
Building an ecosystem
The agency has introduced initiatives such as the Space Economic Zones programme, which is designed to attract and incentivise the private sector, to accelerate this shift.
“We’ve also been organising workshops for these companies and asked for their perspectives,” said Ms Bamatraf. “Two months ago, there was one that focused on the entire space ecosystem. We take these insights into consideration and turn them into policies and initiatives to support the growth of the private sector.”
These measures are part of a global shift that Nasa helped to lead, in which it would rely heavily on awarding contracts to commercial companies for missions and services rather than carrying them out entirely in-house.
This helps space agencies reduce costs and speed up innovation.
Statistics show momentum
The 2021 survey, released in 2023, revealed that total spending in the UAE space sector rose by 6.6 per cent year-on-year.
Commercial spending accounted for 44 per cent of the total, while government contributed the rest.
Spending on research and development increased by nearly 15 per cent, with the bulk directed at exploration activities. The findings for 2023 are expected to be released in November.
