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Space Tourism Boosts Investments in Innovative Sectors, Advanced Technology in Saudi Arabia

HALO Space is set to launch its sixth space tourism test flight from Saudi Arabia in September. (HALO Space)
HALO Space is set to launch its sixth space tourism test flight from Saudi Arabia in September. (HALO Space)
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Space Tourism Boosts Investments in Innovative Sectors, Advanced Technology in Saudi Arabia

HALO Space is set to launch its sixth space tourism test flight from Saudi Arabia in September. (HALO Space)
HALO Space is set to launch its sixth space tourism test flight from Saudi Arabia in September. (HALO Space)

HALO Space, a Spanish startup in space tourism, is set to launch its sixth space tourism test flight from Saudi Arabia in September.

The announcement underscores the efforts the Saudi Arabia’s Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) and General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) have been making to demonstrate the Kingdom’s pioneering role in space tourism.

CEO of Halo Space Carlos Mira told Asharq Al-Awsat that the company is committed to supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 by accelerating efforts to support space tourism through its strategic partnerships with Saudi agencies.

He noted that the company has also set up an operational base in the Kingdom where it offers direct and close support to the transformation of all economic sectors.

Mira predicted a 700 percent rise in global space tourism trips in the first five years, reflecting HALO Space’s commitment to making space within everyone’s reach. It will also propel Saudi Arabia towards playing a more pioneering role in space exploration and pushing forward its innovation and economic diversification.

He underlined the close cooperation between the public and private sectors in adopting safety standards and protection measures, which are the foundations of the success of the mission.

The cooperation between the CST and GACA embodies HALO Space’s commitment to providing a safe flight in the near future, he added.

Managing Partner at Arthur D. Little Middle East and India and HALO Space board member Thomas Kuruvilla underscored the space tourism partnership with Saudi Arabia.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that HALO Space’s innovation is part of the Arthur D. Little company and in cooperation with relevant government agencies and aims to bolster Saudi Arabia’s pioneering role in space tourism.

Saudi Arabia’s readiness to become a launch base for HALO Space in the Middle East will lead to more investments in innovative sectors and advanced technologies, he went on to say.

This includes space exploration and tourism, he explained.

Saudi Arabia is set to go down in history for becoming one of the first countries in the world to launch a space tourism flight, he stressed.

The flight in September is a very significant step and it is also in line with Vision 2030, he stated.

This upcoming test flight will feature HALO Space's real-size prototype capsule, Aurora, which will ascend to 30 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The primary objective of this mission is to rigorously validate the integrated operation of all critical systems developed over the past three years, said the company in a statement.

Alberto Castrillo, Chief Technology Officer of HALO Space, stated: "This mission is designed to meticulously validate all our critical systems we’ve been developing for the past three years. The dates and location were set to ensure the reliable operation of our equipment and safe conditions for the teams that will be on the ground operating the flight."

CST has been working with and supporting HALO Space since the beginning of the year, overseeing preparations for the test flight, which is set against the backdrop of Saudi Vision 2030.

HALO Space's decision to establish its flagship operational base and final assembly site in Saudi Arabia underscores the Kingdom's ideal conditions for space exploration activities and support for innovative business models.

As this visionary plan aims to transform the Kingdom into a global hub for technological innovation and economic diversification, CST has also been collaborating with other government entities such as GACA, to meet all regulatory requirements for the test flight, emphasizing the commitment to the safety of both personnel and materials involved in this ground-breaking test.

Frank Salzgeber, Acting Deputy Governor for Space Sector at CST, highlighted the significance of this collaboration, stating: "Along with its regulatory mandate, CST is also undertaking an enabling role within the civil space sector, through fostering innovative business models, promoting space exploration activities, and supporting joint efforts with relevant authorities to develop space sector.”

“This innovative project represents a significant step forward in space tourism, and in support of such technological advancements and investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, CST is always committed to providing regulatory frameworks that foster innovation among companies and projects like HALO Space while ensuring the safety of personnel and materials,” he added.

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Business

Fed Policymakers Signal Rate Cuts Ahead, But Not Because of Market Rout

The Federal Reserve Board building on Constitution Avenue is pictured in Washington, US, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Phot
The Federal Reserve Board building on Constitution Avenue is pictured in Washington, US, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Phot
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Fed Policymakers Signal Rate Cuts Ahead, But Not Because of Market Rout

The Federal Reserve Board building on Constitution Avenue is pictured in Washington, US, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Phot
The Federal Reserve Board building on Constitution Avenue is pictured in Washington, US, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Phot

Federal Reserve policymakers are increasingly confident that inflation is cooling enough to allow interest-rate cuts ahead, and they will take their cues on the size and timing of those rate cuts not from stock-market turmoil but from the economic data.
That was the shared message of three US central bankers speaking on Thursday who otherwise had slightly different takes on exactly where the economy stands a week and a day after they decided to hold the policy rate steady but signaled a reduction as soon as next month, Reuters said.
A jump in the July US unemployment rate reported on Friday helped spark a global stock market rout that continued into Monday before equities partially recovered, as investors and analysts worried the US was headed for a recession and the Fed would need to react aggressively.
"It's hard to make the case that something has just happened that is monumental on the equity side," Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin said on Thursday, noting major US stock-market indices are still up from the start of the year.
More to the point on policy, he said at a virtual event put on by the National Association for Business Economics, is "all the elements of inflation seem to be settling down (and) I'm relatively hopeful based on the conversations I'm having that that's going to continue."
Those same conversations with business leaders also suggest the cooling in the US labor market is coming from slower hiring rather than a rise in layoffs, he said.
"I think you've got some time in a healthy economy to figure out whether this is an economy that's gently moving into a normalizing state that will allow you to, in a steady deliberate way, normalize rates or ... is this one where you really do have to lean into it."
Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid, one of the US central bank's more hawkish policymakers, also took note of the recently roiled financial markets.
"Financial conditions can both reveal important information on the trajectory of the economy and can also spillover to impact the real economy," he said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Kansas Bankers Association's annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "However, the Fed has to remain focused on achieving its dual mandate" of full employment and price stability.
On that score, he said, recent "encouraging" data showing inflation around 2.5% gives him more confidence inflation is headed to the Fed's 2% goal.
"If inflation continues to come in low, my confidence will grow that we are on track to meet the price stability part of our mandate, and it will be appropriate to adjust the stance of policy," he said.
Schmid described the economy as resilient, consumer demand as strong, and the labor market as noticeably cooling but still "quite healthy," and said he views the current policy stance as "not that restrictive."
"With the tremendous shocks that the economy has endured so far this decade, I would not want to assume any particular path or endpoint for the policy rate," he said.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee on Thursday reiterated his view the central bank's policy is tight, and that to leave borrowing costs where they are even as inflation falls is to make it even tighter, risking harm to the labor market.
But like his more hawkish counterparts, Goolsbee said the stock market, and the upcoming presidential election, would not determine Fed policy.
"The Fed's out of the election business. The Fed is in the economic business," Goolsbee said in an interview on Fox News. "We're not in the business of responding to the stock market. We're in the business of maximizing employment and stabilizing prices."