UAE heading for space as the space world heads for UAE

The UAE is forging ahead with the development of a national space industry and its pioneering role can help accelerate the establishment of a Pan Arab space agency which would reduce the cost of sending satellites into orbit.

Abu Dhabi based 4C GEOC has announced plans for a US$1 billion dollar Earth Observation Space Center, Yahsat’s planned telecommunication satellites launches and the scheduled launch this summer of the UAE’s first ingeniously built remote sensing satellite, DubaSat-1, giving further evidence that the UAE is showing the way forward for Arab countries in the creation of a regional space programme.

The establishment of an Arab Space Research Agency is seen as essential to combine talent, information and technology between countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and plans have already been submitted to governments across the region

The need for the UAE to lead Arab countries into space was highlighted by senior delegates at the Global Space Technology Forum launched in Abu Dhabi last November, and that message is being underlined in the countdown to this year’s event which will attract experts from NASA to the UAE capital when it takes place at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from 7-9 December.

“With the UAE Government already working hard to develop science and technology, the Emirates is seen as the logical venue for the agency’s headquarters,” said Nick Webb, Director of Streamline Marketing Group, organisers of the Global Space Technology Forum. “Regional governments have been studying plans and more detailed proposals are being formulated.

 “The Middle East, North Africa and Indian Subcontinent as a whole are keen to enter the space age in a big way in order to benefit from the enormous opportunities offered by next generation space research and commercial space applications.”

DubaiSat-1 is due to be launched in the summer from the Baikonur complex in Kazakstan, the former centre for the Soviet space programme. This will provide data for infrastructure development, rural and urban development planning, management of natural disasters and provision of accurate maps.

The event combines a three-day exhibition of the latest space technology equipment and services with a two-day conference outlining global policy relating to private ventures and future projects in space, new technology and research efforts making space access easy and affordable.

More details on the conference  are available from www.smg-conferences.com
 

The forum will provide a platform for decision makers representing Middle East Space and Satellite projects from countries such as Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Oman, Vietnam, UAE and Algeria to come together for the first time to discuss Space and Satellite Technology, and join representatives of the NASA, European Space Agency, and other prestigious space programmes worldwide. A series of special closed-door meetings will allow decision makers representing leading Middle East space programmes and other emerging space markets to discuss their requirements and projects.

The event has gained official support from the UAE Space Reconnaissance Center, the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology and the UAE Society of Engineers, in addition to industry media partners SpaceNewsfeed UK, Spacelinks and  Geoconnexion.