Loft Orbital Partners with UAE Company to Expand Satellite Manufacturing in the Middle East

An investment of over $100 million from a company linked to an Emirati royal family is propelling a new partnership between Marlan Space from Abu Dhabi and the nascent enterprise Loft Orbital, aimed at enhancing the area’s own satellite production abilities.

Named Orbitworks, this venture is set to become the United Arab Emirates’ inaugural business-oriented entity focused on the large-scale production of satellites. Marlan Space, newly established and associated with the International Holding Company, holds the majority stake. The International Holding Company is predominantly governed by the Royal Group, under the ownership of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign rulers.

Poised with ambitious space goals, the UAE is equipped with substantial funding resources for such endeavors. Despite being operational for less than ten years, the UAESA (UAE Space Agency) has allocated billions towards nurturing native capabilities and forging global and commercial alliances. The UAE made history by sending its premiere astronaut to the International Space Station in 2019 and, soon after, joined the exclusive circle of nations that have successfully orbited Mars.

In addition to UAESA, the nation’s space sector comprises significant participants such as Space42 (a merger between the Emirati satellite company Yahsat and data analytics firm Bayanat), EDGE Group, and several educational and research establishments, including the National Space and Science Technology Center. With ambitious plans to deploy satellite formations, the country is keen on bringing satellite production in-house.

Pierre-Damien Vaujour, CEO of Loft Orbital, expressed his long-standing interest in the UAE’s space initiatives, stating, “From the inception of Loft, I envisioned establishing a presence in the UAE to contribute to its space sector.”

Loft Orbital, headquartered in San Francisco, specializes in purchasing satellite buses collectively and deploying payloads for its clientele through a uniform modular payload adapter. This adapter melds the customer’s equipment with the spacecraft while Loft manages the launch intricacies and satellite operation post-launch. Moreover, the company offers “virtual missions,” enabling clients to use onboard technology for applications in space.

According to Vaujour, Loft’s adaptable hardware will allow the joint venture to collaborate with a broad spectrum of new space market entrants in the Middle East. “With Loft’s capacity to interface with any payload, bus or subsystem, ground station, or cloud provider, we’re granting the JV our blueprint for satellite production, operations, and technology,” he explained.

Orbitworks has ambitions to construct up to fifty 500-kilogram satellites every year, with the initial ten satellites’ equipment already purchased. The venture will be stationed in an Abu Dhabi facility spanning 50,000 square feet, where it plans to assemble, integrate, and test the inaugural satellite platform by early 2025.

Vaujour highlighted Loft’s meticulous approach to ensure compliance with U.S. legislation and export permits through its arrangements with Marlan. A distinct offshoot, Loft Federal, will continue servicing confidential contracts for U.S. national security interests.

“This newly formed entity is tasked with becoming the national leader in satellite constellation management and production, marking a novel endeavor,” Vaujour remarked. “Though we begin on a smaller scale, the goal is to expand vastly, driven by extensive aspirations both locally, regionally, and internationally.”