Space Perspective, the US space tourism company developing stratospheric balloons, said discussions with Gulf countries seeking to be a launch site for its commercial flights in the Middle East are progressing quickly, with a decision expected next year.
The Florida-based company is spending time in the Gulf to evaluate opportunities and expects to select a location in the first quarter of 2025, Michael Savage, its chief executive, told The National on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Skift Global Forum East in Dubai.
"We have interest from the UAE and entities from Abu Dhabi have come to visit mission control more than once. And we have interest from Qatar and from Saudi Arabia," he said.
"Our customer base likes to vacation in and visit this region, this has become a global hub for high-net worth vacationing ... and because this is a luxury experience, it's ideal for us to be as close as possible to that demographic."
Space Perspective's discussions with these Gulf countries are "accelerating really fast" and competition is heating up in the race to be first to host these space tourism flights in the region, Mr Savage said.
"Each country offers its own advantages and each has its own challenges, we have to vet that and see where the alignment is," he said. "We're spending a lot of time here through the end of the year to vet those opportunities and find the right partner."
Space Perspective will offer hydrogen-powered, high-altitude balloon rides that float passengers about 31km above Earth. The price for a single seat is $125,000 (Dh459,125). The journey promises panoramic views of the planet's curvature, while staying within the safety of a pressurised capsule designed for comfort and luxury, with meals and Wi-Fi.
The company will conduct crewed flight tests in 2025 and expects its first commercial flight to take off in 2026, most likely around Florida's Gulf coast, Mr Savage said.
The UAE has ambitions for economic development through space activities, including tourism. The country's space strategy involves creating an economic impact by creating partnerships with private companies, as well as research and development in space.
The Gulf region's location would be ideal for the company to launch its commercial flights because the capsule will be launched from a ship and splash down in the ocean, Taber MacCallum, co-founder of Space Perspective, told The National.
"Since there is so much water around this region, it's pretty straightforward to figure out how to do operations in this region," he said. "There's times we can fly over the Emirates, for example, east or west, and launch on side and splash down on the other. The region really lends itself to a marine-based operation."
This comes as the UAE pushes forward with its agenda to develop a knowledge-based economy, including space research and exploration, which involves partnerships with private companies.
Space Perspective said the UAE's interest in space and empowering the female workforce in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field aligns with its own goals.
"It's always better to be in a region that is growing and investing than to be in a region that is flat ... it's really exciting what's happening here and see the level of investment and growth in these high-tech knowledge economies," Mr MacCallum said. "It's a very attractive thing. And the Gulf is situated between Asia and Europe, so there's a lot of advantages to this region but very fundamentally, it's the up and coming place on the planet."
Meanwhile, luxury space travel operator SpaceVIP is in "active conversations" to open an office in Dubai in the next 12 to 18 months, Roman Chiporukha, co-founder and chief executive of SpaceVIP, told The National.
He describes SpaceVIP as a "space tourism broker" and a "travel agent for space".
The idea of setting up an office in Dubai would be "to have a presence here to let people know that these opportunities exist", educate young people about space and raise awareness about how the technological innovations developed for space applications can be used to solve problems on Earth such as water scarcity, he said.
The First Monday in May
Director: Andrew Rossi
Starring: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, John Paul Gaultier, Rihanna
Three stars
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
SPECS
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
if you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five pillars of Islam
MATCH INFO
Confederations Cup Group B
Germany v Chile
Kick-off: Thursday, 10pm (UAE)
Where: Kazan Arena, Kazan
Watch live: Abu Dhabi Sports HD
The Programme
Saturday, October 26: ‘The Time That Remains’ (2009) by Elia Suleiman
Saturday, November 2: ‘Beginners’ (2010) by Mike Mills
Saturday, November 16: ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ (2013) by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
Tuesday, November 26: ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976) by Alan J Pakula
Saturday, December 7: ‘Timbuktu’ (2014) by Abderrahmane Sissako
Saturday, December 21: ‘Rams’ (2015) by Grimur Hakonarson
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
More coverage from the Future Forum
Company%20Profile
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
