Abu Dhabi Set to Launch Space Flights by 2030 Under Ambitious Plan

Efforts to start space flights from Abu Dhabi are growing at a dizzying pace and Seattle based Radian Aerospace, has displayed a model of the revolutionary space plane Radian One at a small airstrip within the city. The fully reusable spaceplane is developed for horizontal to space and vertical to landing capability, whereby it offers passengers and cargo carrying capability to the low Earth orbit.

Radian’s goal is to have a suborbital test flight by 2028 and an orbital test flight the year after that with launch and operations to begin commercially at that point. At the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi, there is a vehicle with a revolutionary approach to the launch – the spaceplane. Radian One plans to employ a rail sledge rocket to propel the vehicle into space eliminating the use of a carrier rocket.

According to Livingston L Holder, the CTO of Radian Aerospace, the UAE’s adaptable approach and inexpensive testing in Abu Dhabi made the place perfect for conducting such tests. ‘Thankfully, we were able to construct and conduct the necessary flight tests on our vehicle much sooner and without straining the UAE’s financial capacity,’ he said.

Unlike other space tourism models, Radian One can be used to dock into the International Space Station or other private space stations creating the perfect solutions for space travel or delivering cargo. The development of the space industry in the UAE offering Abu Dhabi to become a strategic center of the rapidly developing new space economy of the world.

Meanwhile, ground tests being conducted, the UAE is expected to enter the list of countries seeking to open new horizons of commercial space travel.