Ministry of Economy aims to accelerate the Emirates’ economic development through space activities
The UAE government is working with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin to bring space tourism flights to the country, the Ministry of Economy has announced.
On Tuesday, The National revealed that the space tourism company was interested in setting up a spaceport in the UAE desert for suborbital flights.
Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy, held a meeting with Blue Origin’s vice president Brent Sherwood this week at the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai.
They agreed to develop a plan that would accelerate the ministry’s ambition for economic development through space activities, including space tourism.
“The ministry is working with its partners to establish an open economic ecosystem that attracts investments to target sectors and stimulate innovative companies to support sustainable development and create an advanced investment environment,” Mr bin Touq said.
“Through this collaboration, we look forward to leveraging Blue Origin’s leading expertise in space manufacturing and space and low Earth orbit flight services to support the UAE’s plans.
“We are also keen to expand the scope of our partnerships with Blue Origin to build and develop space tourism and enhance the national efforts in this respect.”
Blue Origin has sent eight people into space so far through its New Shepard missions, including Star Trek actor William Shatner, who became the oldest person in space, aged 90.
Now, the space tourism company is searching for other locations around the world to set up spaceports. READ MORE
