The UAE generates about 100 enquiries a year for space tourism, with roughly 15 to 18 per cent coming from serious, financially qualified buyers, according to the founder of SpaceVIP.
Roman Chiporukha said some enquiries were speculative as people went silent when he told them the price.
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A seat on a private trip to low Earth orbit costs about $70 million, he said.
He said the UAE had made substantial progress through its space agency over the past decade, but argued that the country needed a domestic talent pipeline.
The UAE is positioning itself as a serious player in the emerging space tourism sector.
Having sent astronauts to the International Space Station and built a respected national space programme, the UAE is now turning its attention to commercial opportunities beyond Earth.
Globally, companies such as Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX have made suborbital and orbital flights increasingly accessible. Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with their appetite for ambitious infrastructure and premium tourism, are exploring spaceport concepts and partnerships. As costs gradually fall, analysts expect the market to expand significantly, with the Gulf well placed to benefit.
Roman Chiporukha said enquiries, globally, come from a mix of ultra-wealthy individuals, celebrities seeking space “firsts” such as a concert or a music video, and people seeking sponsors to fly. Chiporukha said celebrity interest often stalls over who would pay.
Asked about international cooperation, he said space should be a catalyst for collaboration. “Human beings are a collaborative species. We get things done when we work together,” he said.
Cost, safety and timelines
Chiporukha said he could not predict when space travel would become affordable for a wider public.
But he stressed the industry needed to move beyond chemical combustion, as most of a rocket’s mass is fuel. “I would be making things up if I said it’ll happen in the next 10 years or the next 20 years,” he said, though he expects progress “sooner rather than later”.
Safety remains a concern, he acknowledged, with too few flights to give insurers enough data.
“It might cost you more to insure the trip to space than the actual trip to space,” he said.
Commenting on the safety aspect, he added that he believes a person is statistically more likely to die in a car crash than in a rocket failure, and that SpaceVIP is “overly open” with clients about the risks.
On stratospheric balloon flights, which he saw as the lowest barrier to entry, he said no properly pressurised vehicle yet exists for the edge of space.
Hackathon
The New York-headquartered SpaceVIP opened an office in Dubai Media City in 2023.
Chiporukha is in the UAE to meet potential clients and universities. He plans to launch an education initiative through the Space Prize Foundation, a body he started alongside SpaceVIP to promote universal space literacy. The launch is targeted for December 2026 or January 2027.
The programme would be fully funded by SpaceVIP. It would include a three-day hackathon for about 250 participants, followed by a contest judged by chief executives from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It would also feature an artificial intelligence (AI) component.
Winners would receive scholarships, with an incubation route for those who go on to start companies.
Chiporukha said the company would bring its own educators and materials, and that hosting universities would only need to provide a hall.
“I’m not asking for money. I’m giving you the money,” he said, adding that the savings would go towards donating telescopes to schools rather than renting venues.
The foundation ran a similar initiative in Saudi Arabia, launched after Chiporukha attended the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh last year. The contest was originally meant to be held in Riyadh but was moved to Jeddah because of the geopolitical situation. He will present the awards virtually.
Source: Khaleej Times