Saudi Arabia Sets Sights On Building Floating Hotels In Space

Saudi Arabia is looking to build next-generation space stations that could someday serve as floating hotels.

Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Space Debate, Mohammed bin Saud Al Tamimi, Governor of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, revealed that the kingdom was already in talks with other nations over its grand space venture.

"We've heard lots of initiatives from the private sector, not only from a scientific point of view, we also hear about commercialization of space station," he said, The National News reported.

"We hear lots of announcements by multiple companies regarding space tourism and building a hotel as a space station, becoming like a commodity. For me, I see there is a huge opportunity," he said, adding it's about time to see real commercialization of space.

Al Tamimi said discussions about the ambitious plan are underway, and that Saudi Arabia would announce its comprehensive national space strategy in early 2023.

"There's more collaboration and active discussions right now between us in Saudi Arabia and other countries when it comes to building a new model for space stations," he said.

The commercialization of space is not a novel idea for many companies around the world. Previously, companies such as Blue Origin, Axiom Space, and Nanoracks have also expressed interest in building a station in low-Earth orbit that could be accessed not only by government astronauts and researchers but also tourists.

The idea of commercial space ventures has gained momentum in recent months due to the imminent retirement of the International Space Station (ISS), the science laboratory run by various space agencies to explore space. Earlier this year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) laid out its plan to decommission and deorbit the ISS by 2031. Before then, commercial replacement facilities are expected to step in so NASA could maintain a constant human presence in low-Earth orbit.

With the looming retirement of the ISS, Saudi Arabia is trying to revive its space program by tapping into new opportunities in space. The Kingdom announced in September its new human spaceflight program, which would fly two Saudi citizens to the ISS in May 2023. The spaceflight is expected to make history as the first to carry an Arab female in space.

The UAE has also dipped its toes into space exploration with its historic moon mission, which reached its first successful milestone earlier this month with the completion of its launch preparations. The mission, which has been postponed thrice since November due to poor weather conditions and technical issues, is the first Emirati lunar mission. If it turns out successful, the UAE will be the fourth country in the world to land on the moon.