Middle East Space Roundup: 19-25 March 2023
A summary of all the space news in the Greater Middle East over the past week, powered by AzurX
The following are the major space developments in the Greater Middle East region tracked by Middle East Space Monitor over the past week:
20 March 2023
Thuraya, a subsidiary of the UAE’s Yahsat, announces a new tactical satellite communications solution called T-TAC. Developed in collaboration with Cobham SATCOM, T-TAC is designed to allow operators on land, at sea, and in the air to seamlessly communicate over tactical radio and push-to-talk devices via L-band communication satellites. T-TAC makes it easier for governments and companies to communicate while operating in remote areas of the Earth where traditional line-of-sight communication devices are insufficient due to the long geographical distances involved.
21 March 2023
Rolls-Royce is in talks with the UAE on nuclear reactor technology for lunar settlements, after receiving seed funding from the UK Space Agency. Rolls-Royce executive John Kelly says that the British company are also in discussions with the UAE Space Agency on the micro-reactor programme in the context of sustainable space exploration. The UAE Space Agency is reportedly developing a space sustainability theme for the COP 28 Climate Summit to be held in Dubai in late 2023.
The UAE’s Rashid lunar rover is now safely in lunar orbit on board Japan’s ispace Hakuto-R lunar lander, set for soft landing in late April 2023. ispace mission control in Tokyo announced that the Hakuto-R lunar lander safely entered the Moon’s orbit after completing its first lunar orbit insertion manoeuvre. Launched on 11 December 2022 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, the Hakuto-R - carrying the Rashid Rover built by the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) - is expected to make a soft landing on the lunar surface around the Atlas Crater area on or around 25 April 2023. Assuming the Hakuto-R lands safely on the Moon, the Rashid Rover will be remotely driven off the lander and will explore the immediate environs for around 14 days.
22 March 2023
The CEO of Spain’s Satlantis provides details on Armenia’s new Earth observation satellite ARMSAT-1, launched in May 2022, and the possibility of a second satellite, ARMSAT-2, that could be launched soon if the Armenian government decides to do so. Speaking with Armenian English-language online news outlet Mediamax.am, Juan Thomas Hernani, the CEO of Earth observation satellite manufacturer Satlantis, provides details on the genesis of ARMSAT-1 - a two-metre resolution Earth observation 16U Cubesat - and explains that the Armenian government has a short window to acquire ARMSAT-2 over the next few months, otherwise a second satellite will take about three years to build. Hernani also says that Satlantis is committed to building a satellite manufacturing facility in Armenia.
23 March 2023
Ramadan starts in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but how will Sultan Al Neyadi observe the month of fasting while on board the International Space Station? Normally during the Holy Month of Ramadan, Muslims are expected to fast and abstain from smoking and intimate relations from dawn to dusk throughout the period but exceptions are made for young children, pregnant women, the ill, the elderly, and those who are traveling. Ramadan is a period of prayer, reflection, family, and community and marks the occasion of the first revelation to the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him). UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, however, has been granted a special exception by Islamic religious authorities for fasting while on board the International Space Station since he is considered to be traveling for the duration of his mission. This is because while in orbit the crew on board the ISS witness 16 sunrises and sunsets everyday, making fasting from dawn to dusk a rather unique problem. As a pious Muslim, Sultan Al Neyadi will be able to make up for missing the Ramadan fast once he has returned to the Earth’s surface.
SpaceX is reportedly seeking investment from Saudi and UAE funds in its latest investment round that is being led by Morgan Stanley. According to Silicon Valley online business news outlet The Information, Saudi Arabia’s Badeel - the Water and Electricity Holding Company that is part of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund - and Alpha Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates are mulling investing in SpaceX’s latest round of investment that, if successful, would value the company at around $140 billion.
U.S. International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR) prevents UAE’s Rashid Rover 2 from being taken to the moon on board China’s Chang’e-7 lunar lander in 2026, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. The report says that anonymous sources say that the arrangement has been stalled after U.S. concerns that components on board the Rashid Rover 2 could be accessed by Chinese engineers, revealing U.S. technological capabilities to its geopolitical rival. Rashid Rover 2 is unlikely to contain cutting-edge U.S. technology, and critics point out that common components and widgets are included in ITAR restrictions. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) signed an agreement on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress in Paris, France, in September 2022 to have the Rashid Rover 2 delivered to the Moon on board the Chang’e-7 lunar lander.
UAE Space Agency delegation meets with Roscosmos officials during visit to Moscow, Russia, as part of the 11th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian-Emirati Committee for Trade, Economic, and Technical Cooperation.
24 March 2023
Elon Musk denies reports that SpaceX is seeking investment from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the company’s latest investment round (see 23 March 2023 above). In one of Elon Musk’s characteristic Tweets, he simply replied “Not true,” to a report about the possible Middle Eastern investment.
25 March 2023
Retired NASA astronaut Jeff Hoffman and American-Israeli entrepreneur Rachel Raz will be in Israel next week conducting the Space Torah Project roadshow to accompany a new documentary about the project. Hoffman, now retired, is a veteran NASA astronaut who conducted five missions and amassed over 1,000 hours in space and is well-known for taking Jewish religious objects with him on his missions, to include a small Torah scroll. The Space Torah Project tour of Israel will include meetings with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, SpaceIL, and various schools and universities.
Be sure to catch up with space activities in the region in the next edition of Middle East Space Monitor’s space roundup!
