Will the Gulf countries take their share of the "cake" of the space economy?

 Despite the global economic crisis left by the emerging corona virus, investments in space are expanding significantly, as reports indicate that before the pandemic, investment in it amounted to about half a trillion dollars.

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The Gulf interest in space and its sciences has emerged in recent years significantly, represented in governmental and institutional support to bring about a qualitative leap in the field occupied by major countries in the world, in line with the scientific renaissance in space.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been trying for years to aggressively enter into investment in all fields, and find in space a new way to expand their investments and enhance their presence among the major countries in the world, but do they have the ability to compete to enter this field? Observers ask.

• economic expansion

Until 2019, before the Corona pandemic that weakened the global economy, the size of the space industry's economy reached nearly half a trillion dollars, according to the Space Foundation's report for the second quarter of 2020.

Analyzes of the Space Report showed that government and commercial activity in the space industry has grown by 73% in the last ten years.

During the second quarter of this year 2021, the total value of private investments in space companies rose to an all-time high in the second quarter of this year at $4.5 billion, according to a report issued by Space Capital.

The report showed that investment in space follows three main tracks; Infrastructure, which deals with rocket and satellite launches, and two other divisions, distribution and application, includes companies that rely on space technology.

“This was the largest-ever quarter for space infrastructure investment, despite the two SPACs closing in the second quarter," said Chad Anderson, managing partner at Space Capital.

It is estimated that investments this year may exceed the record level recorded in 2020, which amounted to $9.1 billion.

According to the figures of the report issued by the most important organization that tracks the space industry globally, in mid-2020, investment in space increased to 423.8 billion dollars.

• Infrastructure and education

The economist and financial expert, Dr. Abdullah Al-Khater, about the elements that will help any country to invest in this field, stressing the importance of having those needs.

He told Al-Khaleej Online that any work in this field "needs an infrastructure, educational and institutional," explaining that the Gulf countries "do not have the foundations for building such an industry, because it needs preparation and equipment."

He adds: "But developing a vision for how to localize technologies is necessary because of their economic and technical effects, gaining knowledge and practices, and diversifying the economy."

However, Al-Khater believes, at the same time, that it is possible to “attract companies and initiative owners to establish their projects in Qatar and the Gulf, and to develop a strategy to acquire shares and companies through the sovereign fund, and to seek the assistance of Qatar Airways to develop a program to enter this sector, in addition to using research centers to enter into technologies outer space".

• Money alone is not enough

The economic analyst, Wafiq Saleh, shares Al-Khater's opinion that the space economy needs advanced technological development and infrastructure on the ranks of the advanced countries that have made great strides in the field of industry of all kinds and technology, according to him.

He told "Al-Khaleej Online": "Money alone is not enough without being qualified in all economic and technological aspects and having industries in various fields."

He adds, "Having plenty of money does not mean that you have come a long way in the field of major industrial countries."

And he stresses the need for the Gulf countries to "go into the midst of industry and production of all kinds, technology and technology in its modern form, and to own all the economic, technological and technical basics."

• Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the storming of space

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar continue their attempts to enhance their presence in the space economy by stimulating the growth of this sector, which has become the focus of the attention of many countries, and accelerating the adoption of modern technologies in this field.

Recently, on August 3, 2021, the Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdullah Al-Sawaha, held a meeting in Paris with the French ambassador for digital cooperation, Henri Verdi, to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two countries in sectors, including the space economy.

During a workshop held on (July 30, 2021), Saudi officials presented more than 80 British companies with the investment opportunities available to investors, and the competitive advantages that the Kingdom enjoys.

And between 2000 - 2019, the Kingdom launched 16 satellites into space, under the supervision of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), the last of which was the communications satellite “SGS1”, which was launched on February 6, 2019.

Since 2010, Qatar has intensified its interest in space and its sciences, launching a program that has been generously supported to achieve Doha's vision in this field, through the establishment of the Qatar Center for Space and Astronomy Sciences, an idea that has been under consideration since 2005.

The country program uses an approach to space exploration known as “transiting object monitoring” to discover new exoplanets through distant telescopes located in New Mexico (US), Tenerife (Spain) and Urumqi (China).

In September 2020, Qatar launched, in cooperation with NASA, a joint project aimed at formulating a scientific satellite project that will map groundwater and study the melting of ice in the north and south poles of the Earth.

• Reaching Mars..and global agreements

In 2014, the UAE launched a government institution concerned with space sciences under the name "Emirates Space Agency" that aims to reach the planet Mars through an exploration probe, in partnership with the United States of America and China, and indeed the space mission to Mars was launched in July 2020.

On February 9, 2021, the UAE announced the successful arrival of the "Hope Probe" to the orbit of Mars, working to study the weather or climate of Mars.

As for Kuwait, it has concluded agreements with international agencies and development companies in the field to achieve a presence in the ongoing scientific race in the region. Kuwait University has joined the Soil Moisture Scheme “SMAP” project, launched by NASA to map the moisture of the planet and has scientific benefits that help in understanding Cycles of soil drying, flood spread and more accurate weather forecasts.

In December 2020, the Kuwait Scientific Center (established in 2000) announced the success of sending the first Kuwaiti scientific experiment to the International Space Station.

• space satellite and escort

About 17 years ago, the Sultanate of Oman established, specifically in 2004, the Omani Astronomical Society, with the aim of following up on the most prominent scientific developments in the fields of astronomy and space, in cooperation with Arab and international associations and agencies.

In 2020, the Sultanate's government decided to launch the first national space satellite in 2024, as part of its efforts to join the club of space-faring nations.