The US will not relinquish its dominance in low-Earth orbit as the International Space Station nears retirement and a space race with China looms, a leading industry executive has told The National.
Jeffrey Manber, president of International Space Stations at Voyager Space, said the country is seeking a strategic shift to commercial space stations, ensuring a continuing human presence in orbit.
In an exclusive interview with The National at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, he said his company was making steady progress on Starlab, a Nasa-funded commercial station expected to be launched in 2029 on SpaceX’s Starship rocket.
“Speaking from the West here, there is no way the United States is going to surrender low-Earth orbit to China – full stop,” he said. “There is no way, not even in the prior administration, not in the Trump era. So, [China’s] Tiangong is an excellent station. It’s up there 24/7, fully crewed, and we will do the same.”
Mr Manber’s comments reflect growing geopolitical concerns as China continues to expand its Tiangong station, offering international partnerships to nations seeking alternatives to Nasa-led space projects.
End of the ISS
The ISS, which has been operational for more than two decades, is expected to retire by 2030. Nasa has now turned to the private sector, supporting the development of commercial space stations such as Voyager Space’s Starlab and Axiom Space’s station.
“We continue to make really good progress at Starlab,” Mr Manber said. “We passed maybe a month ago what’s called the PDR [preliminary design review] at Nasa. It’s a very significant step, where we’re almost locked in the final design, and everything’s good with Nasa, which is important because they’re the important customer.”
He also expressed confidence in the readiness of SpaceX’s Starship, despite the vehicle still being in the testing phase.
“We have full confidence that by 2029, Starship will be ready,” he said. “I think three or four [Starships were] launched, went to orbit, the payload doors opened, so that’s all we need. If they [SpaceX] are doing that already in the beginning, it’s good progress.”
A competitive space
Starlab is one of three stations backed by Nasa’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Destinations (CLD) programme, the others being Axiom Space and Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef. Nasa awarded initial funding of $160 million to Voyager Space in 2021 and an additional $57.5 million last year to develop the station. Voyager Space also received a $15 million grant on Monday from the Texas Space Commission. Under CLD, Blue Origin was awarded $130 million in 2021 and a further $42 million last year, while Axiom Space had secured $140 million.
Vast Space is another competitor in the field, which is not Nasa-funded but is still hoping to be a successor to the ISS. It is developing Haven-1, expected to be launched in May 2026, and the project will then be expanded with Haven-2 two years later.
Tom Shelley, chief of private crew recruitment at Vast Space, told The National the company completed a key milestone last Thursday, when Haven-1 passed a test to check whether the station’s main structure can handle the pressure and harsh conditions of space.
“Building any new spacecraft is an ambitious objective but we’ve taken our time, completed this test and now we have a good foundation on which to make our next prediction,” he said. “We're working towards launch now in May of next year, which is a little bit of a delay from our original stated intention of August of this year, but we have a high degree of confidence in this and now we're able to move forward to the next phase in our development.”
While Vast Space is not part of Nasa’s CLD programme, Mr Shelley said the company maintains a strong partnership with the space agency.
Through Haven-1, the company is looking to provide a short-term, privately funded solution that can be operational before the ISS retires. This approach allows Vast Space to develop its capabilities independently in the hope it can secure Nasa contracts in future.
“A lot of our competitors received some Nasa funding as part of the first round of the CLD programme,” he said. “We didn’t receive funding because the company really wasn’t around at the time to apply for that, but we do have the same level of technical partnership with Nasa.”
Haven-1 started out as a single-module station designed for short-duration missions, with plans to expand into Haven-2 by docking additional modules and including artificial gravity.
Axiom Space is building a modular station that will first attach to the ISS before becoming independent, with an expected launch date of 2028.
Starlab, in comparison, is much larger and fully integrated from the start, requiring SpaceX’s Starship for launch because no other rocket is powerful enough to carry its single, large module into orbit.
“Our focus really is to make sure that we can demonstrate that we can build and fly, and have all of the operational procedures to support crew on orbit as quickly as possible. And to ensure that there is no gap between the end of the ISS and the transition to commercial stations,” said Mr Shelley.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
SCHEDULE
Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
15.00-17.00 Extra free practice
Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 1
15.30 BRM F1 qualifying
Saturday, December 8
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
