UAE NEEDS TO BUILD ITS OWN LAUNCH CAPABILITY

A data-driven global economy and the rise of orbital AI make orbital access capability a national imperative

- BY DR ARMEN V. PAPAZIAN | Special to Gulf News

It is only natural and fair for any nation to aspire and build its own orbital access capability and infrastructure.

While the pursuit of outer space is a sovereign right, only a handful of countries have successfully achieved it. Regardless of the economic and/or technological reasons that may be used to explain this fact, the strategic value of independent access to outer space has grown immensely. Indeed, outer space will continue to grow in strategic and economic importance over the next many decades.

This is so because of geopolitical considerations, but also due to far-reaching implications for a growing data-driven global economy that is increasingly reliant on outer space systems.

The worldwide growth and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the expanding demand for data centres, and the energy that is needed to power them, are reinforcing an already high demand for outer space infrastructure. There is now ample evidence that in the very near future we will have AIs in orbit, serving us on the surface of Earth.

I argue that the UAE must begin building its own domestic orbital launch capability without delay. This must become a national priority, and it must be pursued in parallel to all the already established and /or achieved strategic goals.