How did the UAE build its first homegrown rocket after two years of trial and error?

Engineers at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) spent more than two years assembling a mixed team of experienced specialists and young Emirati talent, refining objectives, troubleshooting supplier limitations, and running repeated simulations and ground tests before successfully launching the country’s first locally manufactured hybrid sounding rocket; led by Dr Elias Tsoutsanis at TII’s Propulsion and Space Research Centre, the project required repeated motor firings, complex system integration, telemetry rewrites just minutes before launch, and close collaboration with local manufacturers to produce precision carbon-fibre and propulsion components — culminating in a clean mid-air separation and parachute recovery that allowed engineers to retrieve critical flight data for future scaling toward higher altitudes and small satellite launch ambitions. Do you think the UAE should accelerate investment in domestic rocket development, or focus more on international space partnerships?

Add your Comment:

+