Commercialization of space offers opportunities for GCC
KHALED ABOU ZAHR/ Arab News:
The International Space Station has, for many years, been a great symbol of the global village the world has become. An example of countries from across the world working together for greater attainments. It has inspired many movies, in which we see astronauts, scientists, soldiers and researchers of different nationalities come together to defeat threats to humanity’s future. All this is now coming to an end, as the ISS is to be decommissioned in 2031. Symbolically, the space station is reaching the end of its life just as the world looks less like a global village and is becoming more fragmented.
The relative stability and peace that allowed for global partnerships have been lost. The trend is toward bilateral collaboration and partnerships. NASA expects to spend $1 billion on a space tug to de-orbit the space station. And so, a new type of collaboration is being put forward. As we already see with the first Saudi astronauts, private US companies such as SpaceX and Axiom Space are playing a key role in this new phase. This will continue with the development of private space companies in the US and Europe.
There is no doubt that there is a need for space stations, just as much as satellites and other spacecraft. The fact that much space activity will no longer be directly led by a national space agency such as NASA but by private companies means that countries looking for access to space will need to diversify their partnerships with these companies as well. This applies to research in space as well as developing telecommunications constellations or intelligence satellites. The emergence of space startups looking to create innovative solutions to these problems is hence a positive outcome of this change.
There is a real opportunity for the Gulf Cooperation Council states to benefit from this transformation. In a sense, global collaboration between private sector and public sector has become more efficient. Private companies are focused on achieving commercial viability and so will always find ways to better manage resources, as well as create new revenue streams. Space companies will, like many deep tech companies, need to find a path to profitability and the GCC markets can be a part of this.But space and deep tech will still follow political friendships. Indeed, the sensitivity of the space domain means that you can only work with friends. And you need to make sure your friends do not share your knowledge with your competition or enemy. This means that there is a need to broaden partnerships and projects between allies. This was clear during Saudi Space Commission CEO Mohammed bin Saud Al-Tamimi’s visit to India’s space agency and research centers this month. This was all the more important as India has been successful with its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which accessed orbit multiple times in 2022, making it a leading country, although still far behind SpaceX.SpaceX has become the cornerstone of access to space. It has taken over a large part of the market, which has allowed the company to increase its prices to access orbit. Europe has faced difficulties with its launching capabilities. Nevertheless, it is determined to solve this and guarantee access. The model in the US that promotes private companies should be emulated in the GCC. It is the key to developing a real space economy and unleashing the innovation cycle.