Middle East

Nanoracks partnered with Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and launched a new Space AgTech company, StarLab Oasis, Nanoracks announced. The aim of the project is to accelerate the growth of Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem. The multi-year economic development will grant a commercial space and farming research centre in the city.

From pearl diving to the discovery of oil and gas to exploring space, the UAE has emerged as a force to be reckoned with all its endeavours. The exemplary vision of the nation’s forefathers has been shouldered by its citizens and has in turn catapulted the UAE to reinforce its ability to excel across all domains.

SPAC mergers with space companies made a comeback, with Planet’s and Satellogic’s announced transactions raising almost US$900 million*. Purely private rounds added another US$366 million. Also noteworthy were two public listings in the sector: (1) Seraphim Space Investment Trust raising GBP178.4 million for acquiring stakes held by Seraphim Capital in 15 space companies;

LEOcloud and Ramon.Space partner to build a satellite-hosted cloud, the companies announced. They entered into a partnership to develop satellite-hosted cloud edge computing capabilities for commercial, government and military customers, the companies said.

They will try again: Israel’s SpaceIL, the company that lost the Beresheet satellite on the Moon two years ago, raised $70 million for its second mission in 2024, media reports and SpaceIL said. SpaceIL estimates the total cost of the mission at $100 million.

Yahsat offers 976 million shares for € 0.63 per share, the company said, representing 40% of the company’s share capital; it expects a market capitalization of € 1.54 billion upon listing, the company said. The offering was multiple times oversubscribed, Yahsat said, with “significant demand” from institutional investors, individuals and others in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Israeli startup medical company providing remote neurological monitoring through a smartphone application is among the selected few technologies that will go into space in early 2022. The Ax1 team’s “Rakia” (Sky) mission led by Axiom Space, the Ramon Foundation and the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Science and Technology,

The satellite operator Yahsat, owned by the Abu Dhabi investment fund Mubadala, wants to go public, sell “at least 30%” of its capital and list at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the company announced. The offering creates an opportunity for investors to participate in the strategic growth of a leading integrated satellite communication services provider, Yahsat said. 

Rocket Lab has been awarded by the University of California Berkeley to design two Photon spacecraft named Blue and Gold for a scientific ESCAPADE mission to Mars, the launch company said. ESCAPADE is a mission that will orbit two spacecraft around Mars to understand the structure, composition, variability, and dynamics of Mars' unique hybrid magnetosphere, Rocket Lab said.

The future of the exploration of Moon and Mars took center stage at the IAF Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2021) in St. Petersburg, the federation said. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, announced their plans to send a rover to the Moon by 2024/2025.