Yahsat: “Unprecedented growth in MENA space economy”
December 19, 2022
Abu Dhabi-based Yahsat has released a White Paper on the evolution of the MENA space and SATCOM Sectors. The operator says it has witnessed “unprecedented growth” in the overall $469 billion (€442.1bn) MENA space economy (according to the Space Foundation) and which Morgan Stanley says could surge to over $1 trillion by 2040.
Yahsat says that the MENA space journey has a robust future, and reminds readers that its very name (Al Yah, in the correct name of the company) comes from the Arabic name of the North or Pole Star. Yahsat, along with Thuraya, is now serving more than 150 countries and well beyond its local neighbours.
The region’s first satellite, Thuraya-1, was launched in 2000. Yahsat now owns the Thuraya fleet. The UAE’s “pioneering” position in space is now being joined with initial craft from Bahrain and Oman.
2025 will see Yahsat’s 6th satellite (Thuraya-4) become operational. The company says it is working to be the biggest space hub in the region and to include satellite manufacturing and related applications. It wants to see new developments in space-related services not least satellite insurance and finance.