New UAE space company to develop 50 satellites per year

A $100 million space company, backed by Abu Dhabi-listed International Holding Company, will become the first company in the UAE to develop commercial low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

Orbitworks, a joint venture between Marlan Space and US-headquartered Loft Orbital, will be the Middle East’s first private space infrastructure company. It plans to develop 50 satellites annually, each weighing 500 kg.

The company will soon commence work on the facility that will employ advanced hardware, software and industrial technologies to integrate and test satellites. The location of the facility was not disclosed.

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The joint venture has already secured components for its first 10 satellites, with the inaugural launch potentially taking place in the first quarter of 2026. 

Orbitworks will collaborate with Loft Orbital to fly any payload to orbit in the shortest time possible.

The first satellite platform’s assembly, integration and testing are expected to be completed by early 2025.

In May, Mohammad Al Ghafri, assistant director general of the aerospace engineering sector at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre said the UAE is working to lure greater private sector participation in its space industry.

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“It is too expensive for governments to do it on their own. Privatising is always better,” he said during a panel at Dubai Fintech Summit. 

The UAE Space Agency last year launched the “Space Means Business” campaign, which is intended to highlight business opportunities open to Emirati and international companies in the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt – the first multiple-asteroid tour and landing mission to the main belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter.

The value of the Middle East space sector is expected to reach $75 billion by 2032, according to a white paper, Beyond the Stars: Middle East’s Space Ecosystem on the Move.