Why the UAE could become a major space tourism hub – News

The global space tourism market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 37.1% from 2022 to 2030, reaching USD 8.67 billion by 2030

file photo

Last summer, UAE resident Hamish Harding wanted to experience the thrill of rocket flight and a few minutes of zero gravity, and he had to fly 15 hours to the United States and then drive a few hours to the West Texas desert to realize his dream .

Imagine if Hamish and thousands of other dreamers and adventurers from all over the world could have the same experience from here in the UAE. Imagine if the UAE were to build a space tourism hub, including launch facilities and runways, astronaut training centers and desert camps, entertainment venues, and hotels for family and friends.

Benefited by a pleasant year-round climate, the UAE is well connected by air to 10 commercial airports, connecting two-thirds of the world’s population on an eight-hour flight (Dubai International Airport is expected to handle 55.1 million passengers in 2022, up from 2021 With 29.1 million) regional commercial, educational, cultural and tourism centers, a world-class hospitality and entertainment industry, and a proud space ancestry, the country is an ideal location to create a global hub for space tourism.

From 2022 to 2030, the global space tourism market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 37.1% to reach USD 8.67 billion by 2030. The UAE has the ability to seize market share, open up new market spaces, create new demand and further diversify the tourism market. There’s a range of space tourism services to choose from, such as Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket used by Hamish Harding to launch from West Texas, or Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, ready to go Later, a suborbital flight status from United Airlines will also be available.

Other space tourism experiences include a high-altitude balloon ride to an altitude of 30-40 kilometers, where passengers can see the vast expanses of space and the curvature of the Earth. These high-altitude balloon tours can be offered from anywhere on Earth.

All of these space tourism activities can be experienced in the UAE, as the country offers unique advantages not only to tap into a lucrative market, but also to enhance its broader space ambitions.

First of all, the UAE is blessed with a suitable climate, and with the exception of a few days of bad weather, space tourism flights can be carried out all year round. Even in the hot and humid summers of the bay, the climate is suitable for space tourism flights.

Second, the UAE’s geographic location as an international air travel hub means it can attract space tourists from Europe to Northeast Asia and everything in between. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are just an eight-hour flight from both London and Tokyo, making the country a great location for space tourism in Eurasia.

Third, the country’s luxury hotel and entertainment industry is poised to accommodate the high-net-worth space tourism crowd. The centre can take advantage of Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s many luxury hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, exclusive shopping experiences, and world-class facilities. Much of the necessary infrastructure and amenities already exist.

Fourth and last, the UAE has become one of the world’s leading space powers in a very short period of time thanks to the UAE’s investment in advanced satellite technology, a successful and promising Mars mission in 2019, and an ongoing astronaut programme. In the coming years, the UAE intends to conduct an ambitious flyby of Venus and use the same spacecraft to rendezvous with an object in the asteroid belt beyond the orbit of Mars. The space tourism launch site will allow the domestic space ecosystem to conduct microgravity research flights using capabilities designed for space tourism.

A world-class space tourism hub will further enhance the country’s reputation as an advanced global space powerhouse and has the opportunity to be the destination of choice for space tourism operators, manufacturers, SMEs, start-ups and hundreds of thousands of emerging space powerhouses from around the world of tourists. – Anna Hazlett is the founder and principal partner of AzurX, a company focused on space and strategic technologies.

– John B. Sheldon is a partner at AzurX.