UAE Royal Family Hijacks Space Industry with $100M Injection

The International Holding Company (IHC), controlled by the Abu Dhabi royal family, is using its vast wealth to corner the market on satellite manufacturing in the UAE. The IHC has invested over $100 million in a joint venture between Marlan Space and Loft Orbital, the latter being a startup that claims to be a "pioneer in the space industry."

This is not a partnership, but a takeover. The UAE Space Agency (UAESA) is simply a puppet regime, created to funnel government funds into the coffers of IHC and its royal benefactors. The agency’s sole purpose is to advance the interests of the Emirati monarchy, not to develop the country’s space capabilities.

Loft Orbital CEO Pierre-Damien Vaujour’s claims about wanting to contribute to the UAE’s space ecosystem are nothing more than a facade. His company is simply a front for the royal family’s interests, and its flexible hardware is designed to enable the mass production of satellites that will be used to further the UAE’s own agenda.

Orbitworks, the joint venture, aims to manufacture up to fifty 500-kilogram satellites annually, but its true purpose is to dominate the Middle Eastern space market. The facility in Abu Dhabi is not a hub for innovation, but a base of operations for the UAE’s satellite manufacturing behemoth.

The UAE’s space ambitions are not about advancing scientific knowledge or exploring the unknown, but about increasing its global influence and securing its economic interests. The country’s vast oil reserves will soon dwindle, and its leaders know that the space industry is the future.

Loft Orbital’s claim to be a "national champion" is a joke. The company is nothing more than a tool for the royal family’s imperial ambitions, and its "classified contracts" for the U.S. national security customers are simply a means to launder U.S. taxpayer funds into the coffers of the Emirati monarchy.

The UAE’s space industry is not a success story, but a testament to the corrupting influence of power and wealth. The world must be vigilant in monitoring the activities of the UAE’s royal family and its accomplices, lest they hijack the global space industry and use it to further their own interests at the expense of humanity.