A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. NASA / Joel Kowsky
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. NASA / Joel Kowsky
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. NASA / Joel Kowsky
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. NASA / Joel Kowsky

Top SpaceX and Blue Origin engineers wanted for Abu Dhabi space start-up


Arthur Scott-Geddes
  • English
  • Arabic

An Abu Dhabi entrepreneur with dreams of opening up the space industry is raising funds to bring top engineers from the likes of SpaceX and Blue Origin to the UAE capital.

Andrey Maximov, the co-founder of Precious Payload – a start-up that helps with the planning and execution of satellite missions by taking care of mission and supply chain management – wants Abu Dhabi to become a logistics and service centre for the space industry.

“I'm in talks with investors here in the UAE and also in the European Union, and I'm looking to raise another $5 million to continue growing our footprint in Abu Dhabi,” he told The National on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai.

“I'm talking now to the best engineers from SpaceX, from Blue Origin, from OHB in Germany and from the European Union to relocate to Abu Dhabi. And you know what? They like it here because the weather is good.”

The UAE, he said, provides fertile ground for space-focused start-ups.

“If you stay in the United States or in the UK, you'll be like small fish in pretty huge ponds and it's not easy to cut through the noise,” he said. “But here, the amount of exposure you get – it really moves the needle for the companies.”

Andrew Maximov wants to reduce the risk for entrepreneurs to access satellites by making it faster and cheaper to go to space. Photo: Precious Payload
Andrew Maximov wants to reduce the risk for entrepreneurs to access satellites by making it faster and cheaper to go to space. Photo: Precious Payload

Precious Payload, which set up shop in Abu Dhabi at Hub71 in 2020 with funding from Mubadala Ventures and Silicon Valley investors such as Tim Draper, this week opened up its launch-booking tool to the public in an effort to help would-be satellite operators connect with launch companies and find upcoming flights.

Those interested in sending a satellite into space can outline a mission and get a quote straight from a launch operator.

To keep costs down and waiting times to a minimum, Precious Payload uses its expertise in the industry to help its clients deal with a complex web of regulators governing space launches around the world.

Mr Maximov said the company first created the launch-booking software for internal use.

“Now we want to share it with the public so anyone can use and leverage the infrastructure behind the small satellite industry,” he said.

“We believe that with our software, entrepreneurs can start a space company – even from their dorm room.”

In recent years, reusable rockets have begun to dramatically reduce the cost of getting a payload into orbit.

During its operational lifetime, Nasa’s space shuttle could carry a payload of 27,500 kilograms into orbit at a cost of about $1.5 billion, or $54,000 per kilogram.

With a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which are now used routinely to send astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, the cost has come down to about $2,720 per kilogram.

Small, affordable satellites – usually weighing less than 600kg and sometimes called cubesats or smallsats – have also revolutionised the commercial space sector in recent years.

In 2020, 1,202 smallsats reached space, accounting for almost half of the smaller satellites to have launched since 2010, according to data from BryceTech, a US analytics and engineering firm.

In the first quarter of 2021 alone, about 720 spacecraft flew to space on board rockets from around the world – mostly smallsats.

A set of cubesats after deployment. Wikicommons
A set of cubesats after deployment. Wikicommons

While ride-share missions using reusable rockets to carry dozens of satellites into orbit have become almost routine, getting them there is a significant challenge even for established national space companies.

South Korea’s first domestically developed space rocket failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit during a test flight last week.

Mr Maximov said that as many as 40 per cent of small satellite missions “do not achieve the primary mission goal” and effectively end in failure.

On top of that, he said, “more than 65 per cent of those missions get delayed by more than a year and they run over budget by more than a million dollars”.

“Globally that represents up to four billion dollars of lost resources and opportunities.”

Helping the pioneering new space companies behind these missions to fail faster and more cheaply is key to keeping up momentum in a fast-growing sector like commercial space, he said.

“There is a very big risk that the hype will go. It's so easy to lose momentum because right now this hype around the space industry is fuelled by VCs [venture capital companies] and they're not really patient people.”

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
War and the virus
Oppenheimer
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Top tips to avoid cyber fraud

Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:

1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.

2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.

3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.

4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.

5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.

The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 280hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
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Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Essentials

The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.

The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000

Engine 3.6L V6

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm

Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km

HWJN
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The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Five healthy carbs and how to eat them

Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat  

Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar

Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices

Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants

Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

Abaya trends

The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.

RESULTS

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Fernando Jara (jockey), Irfan Ellahi (trainer).

5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,400m​​​​​​​
Winner: AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,400m​​​​​​​
Winner: Yaalail, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 1,600m​​​​​​​
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m​​​​​​​
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Fernando Jara, Helal Al Alawi.

7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2.200m
​​​​​​​Winner: Ezz Al Rawasi, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi.

PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani

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 Meg
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Starring:   
Two stars

Updated: November 09, 2021, 6:55 AM`