Programmes and benchmarks › Middle East launch and Europe
Welcome to our in-depth analysis of Middle East launch and its ties to Europe, originally published October 9th, 2026. Make sure to check out our mission statement and why we do what we do. Look at our New Space guide if you want explanations of terms and concepts used in our research. And follow us on X for updates.
Middle East launch and Europe in October 2026
- Who launches: European rockets carried 7 of the region’s 8 large satellites from 1985 to 1999. Since 2020 they have carried 1 of 7, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 flew the other six.
- Who builds: Airbus and Thales Alenia Space still build most of the region’s large satellites. Turksat 5A and 5B, Arabsat’s Badr-8 and the UAE’s Thuraya 4 were built in Europe and launched on Falcon 9.
- Ariane 6 and Vega C: We found no launch booking from the region as of October 2026. The last Ariane 5 with a Gulf satellite carried Saudi Arabia’s SGS-1 in February 2019.
- UAE: The UAE has the closest ties to Europe’s space agencies in the region. It signed with ESA in 2018 and again in December 2024, and France built the cameras for both of its Rashid Moon rovers.
- Falcon Eye: Airbus and Thales Alenia Space built the UAE’s two Falcon Eye satellites. A Vega failure destroyed the first in July 2019, and Soyuz launched the second from Kourou in December 2020.
- Oman: Etlaq, the region’s only commercial spaceport, has signed three European launch firms: PLD Space, HyImpulse and Latitude. None has launched from Oman yet, and PLD Space and Latitude plan first flights there in 2027.
What you should know about Middle East launch and Europe
📰 For space enthusiasts
- Arabsat 1A flew on an Ariane 3 in February 1985, the first large satellite in the region launched by Europe
- Turkey’s first satellite, Turksat 1A, was lost on an Ariane 4 in January 1994, and Turksat 1B reached orbit that August
- Venμs, an Earth-watching satellite run by Israel’s space agency and France’s CNES, flew on Vega in August 2017
- Vega flight VV15 in July 2019 failed after a thermo-structural failure in the front dome of the Zefiro 23 second stage, ESA’s inquiry found
- Etlaq so far: a Weka sounding rocket flew in December 2024, a Kea-1 was stood down on the pad in July 2025, and a Singapore-built rocket flew in early October 2026
💰 For VCs and industry experts
- Falcon Eye: about EUR 800 million for two satellites from Airbus and Thales Alenia Space (contract 2013, press figure)
- Turksat 5A and 5B: about USD 500 million to build and launch both, with Airbus choosing Falcon 9 (2017)
- Al Yah 4 and 5: a Space42 programme of about USD 1.1 billion (AED 3.9 billion) with Airbus, launches booked on Falcon 9 for 2027 and 2028
- Space42 and ICEYE: a joint venture (December 2024) with the Finnish radar-satellite maker
- OmanSat-1: Oman’s first national telecom satellite, ordered from Airbus in November 2025, launcher not named
👨💻 For potential employees
- Satellite work in the UAE: the Space42 and ICEYE joint venture plans to assemble and test radar satellites in the UAE
- Pad work in Oman: PLD Space will help design and build its launch pad at Etlaq
- Planning from the UK: UK Launch Services wrote Etlaq’s master plan in 2023
- Moon work from Toulouse: CNES supports the cameras and images on the UAE’s Rashid 2 rover
Middle East launch and Europe: who builds, who launches
For three decades the Middle East’s large satellites came mostly from European factories and flew mostly on European rockets from Kourou in French Guiana. Since 2020 European firms still build most of them, while SpaceX launches nearly all of them.
This page follows the region’s ties to Europe’s space business. It covers the rockets that launched its satellites, the firms that built them, the agency deals and Oman’s Etlaq spaceport, where three European launch firms plan to fly. Counts come from Jonathan McDowell’s launch log and satellite catalogue.
| Country or operator | Last satellite on a European rocket | European-built satellites since 2020 | Agency ties with Europe |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | Falcon Eye 2, Soyuz from Kourou, December 2020 | Falcon Eye 2, Thuraya 4, ICEYE radar satellites | ESA 2018 and 2024, Italy 2016, Germany 2017, France 2018 to 2025 |
| Saudi Arabia | SGS-1, Ariane 5, February 2019 | none found | France 2021 |
| Arabsat | Badr-7, Ariane 5, November 2015 | Badr-8 (Airbus), Arabsat 7A on order (Thales Alenia Space) | n/a |
| Turkey | Gokturk-1, Vega, December 2016 | Turksat 5A and 5B (Airbus) | ESA 2004, now expired |
| Qatar | Es’hail 1, Ariane 5, August 2013 | none found | none found |
| Israel | Dido-3, Vega, September 2020 | none found | ESA 2011 |
| Oman | none | OmanSat-1 on order (Airbus) | Etlaq deals with PLD Space, HyImpulse and Latitude |
Europe launched the region’s first large satellites
Arabsat, the Riyadh-based operator owned by Arab League states, launched its first satellite on an Ariane 3 in February 1985. Turkey followed with Turksat 1B on an Ariane 4 in August 1994, and by 1999 European rockets had carried 7 of the region’s 8 large satellites.
From 2000 to 2019 Russian rockets and the Sea Launch Zenit won part of the business, and Ariane still carried 12 of 26 large satellites. The UAE’s first Al Yah satellite went up on Ariane 5 in April 2011, and Qatar’s first, Es’hail 1, in August 2013.
Ariane 5’s last satellite for a Gulf owner was SGS-1 in February 2019, co-owned by Saudi Arabia’s KACST and Hellas Sat. Since 2020 only one large regional satellite has flown on a European rocket, the UAE’s Falcon Eye 2.
Why the region’s operators moved to Falcon 9
Since the Turksat 5A launch in January 2021, every European-built satellite for the region has flown on Falcon 9. The operators gave reasons in public, and none of them named Ariane 6 delays.
| Operator | Satellite | Reason given | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Es’hailSat (Qatar) | Es’hail 2 | SpaceX could meet a launch at the end of 2016, and the satellite was too heavy for Ariane 5’s lower slot while the upper slot was booked | December 2014 |
| Turksat (Turkey) | Turksat 5A and 5B | Airbus, the builder, chose Falcon 9 inside its build-and-launch contract | November 2017 |
| Turksat (Turkey) | Turksat 6A | Falcon 9 was the best option on “technical, administrative and financial” grounds after several offers | September 2021 |
| Arabsat | Arabsat 7A | a “trusted relationship with SpaceX” built over recent years | September 2022 |
| Space42 (UAE) | Thuraya 4, Al Yah 4 and 5 | no reason published | 2021 and 2024 |
Ariane 5 flew its last mission in July 2023, and Ariane 6 first flew in July 2024. We found no Ariane 6 or Vega C booking from a Middle East customer as of October 2026. Our Ariane 6 and Vega C analyses cover both rockets.
The satellites Europe builds for the region
| Satellite | Owner | Builder | Ordered | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon Eye 1 and 2 | UAE Armed Forces | Airbus, Thales Alenia Space | 2013 | Vega 2019 (lost), Soyuz 2020 |
| Turksat 5A and 5B | Turksat | Airbus | 2017 | Falcon 9, 2021 |
| Badr-8 | Arabsat | Airbus | 2020 | Falcon 9, 2023 |
| Thuraya 4 | Space42 | Airbus | 2020 | Falcon 9, January 2025 |
| Arabsat 7A | Arabsat | Thales Alenia Space | 2022 | Falcon 9, date not set |
| Foresight radar satellites | Space42 | ICEYE | 2023 | SpaceX rideshares from 2024 |
| Al Yah 4 and 5 | Space42 | Airbus | 2024 | Falcon 9, 2027 and 2028 |
| OmanSat-1 | Space Communication Technologies (Oman) | Airbus | 2025 | not named |
Space42 formed in 2024 when Yahsat and Bayanat merged, and it has ordered satellites from both Airbus and ICEYE. Its joint venture with ICEYE, set up in December 2024, will assemble and test radar satellites in the UAE.
Falcon Eye: lost on Vega, launched on Soyuz
In July 2013 the UAE Armed Forces ordered two Earth-imaging satellites from Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, a deal the press put at about EUR 800 million. Airbus called the system “an important step in the cooperation” between the UAE and France.
Falcon Eye 1 lifted off on Vega flight VV15 from Kourou on July 11th, 2019 (UTC). About two minutes into flight the second stage failed, and ESA’s inquiry found “a thermo-structural failure in the forward dome area of the Z23 motor”. It was Vega’s first failure after 14 successes.
The customer then moved Falcon Eye 2 from Vega to Soyuz, which could fly sooner. Soyuz launched it from Kourou on December 2nd, 2020, the last Arianespace launch for a Gulf customer that we found.
The UAE and Europe’s space agencies
The UAE has signed with more European space agencies than any other country in the region. Italy’s ASI signed a framework accord with the UAE Space Agency in January 2016, covering radar Earth observation, satellite communications and training.
Germany’s DLR followed with a memorandum in November 2017, and France’s CNES in February 2018. In October 2018 the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre signed a memorandum of intent with ESA on space science and astronaut training.
The UAE Space Agency and ESA signed a memorandum of understanding in Abu Dhabi on December 10th, 2024. At the International Astronautical Congress in October 2026, ESA named the UAE among its growing partners and met the UAE Space Agency’s director general, Salem Al Qubaisi.
French hardware also flies on Emirati missions. CNES supplied the cameras for the first Rashid Moon rover, launched in December 2022. In September 2025 it signed with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre to supply cameras for Rashid 2.
Oman’s Etlaq: where Europe’s small rockets plan to fly
Etlaq at Duqm, on Oman’s Arabian Sea coast, is the region’s only commercial spaceport. In November 2023 its owner NASCOM gave its first major contract, the master plan, to UK Launch Services.
| Firm | Country | Deal | Date | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLD Space | Spain | agreement for a Miura 5 launch pad | February 2025 | first launch from Oman in 2027 |
| HyImpulse | Germany | letter of intent for SR75 and SL1 | June 2026 | no date given |
| Latitude | France | letter of intent for a first experimental launch | July 2026 | late 2027 |
The rockets that have flown from Duqm so far came from outside Europe. A Weka sounding rocket made the first launch on December 5th, 2024, and a Kea-1 rocket was stood down on the pad in July 2025 after a valve fault.
In early October 2026 a small rocket built by OculloSpace of Singapore flew from Duqm, and Etlaq counted it as its second successful launch. Our Etlaq Spaceport review and Oman country page cover the site in detail, and we review PLD Space, HyImpulse and Latitude.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel
Turkey signed a framework cooperation agreement with ESA in July 2004 for five years. In October 2026 ESA’s director general, Josef Aschbacher, said it had expired and that any new work would need a new agreement.
Turkey’s Gokturk-1 Earth-imaging satellite, built with Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio, flew on Vega in December 2016. Its newest communications satellites, Turksat 5A and 5B, came from Airbus and flew on Falcon 9 in 2021.
France’s CNES signed a cooperation framework with the Saudi Space Commission in December 2021, covering climate monitoring and training. Arabsat, based in Riyadh, launched Badr-7 on Ariane 5 in 2015 and ordered Arabsat 7A from Thales Alenia Space in 2022.
Qatar’s first satellite, Es’hail 1, flew on Ariane 5 in August 2013. Israel signed a cooperation agreement with ESA in January 2011, and its Venμs satellite, shared with CNES, flew on Vega in 2017.
What comes next
The next dated steps tie back to Europe’s firms. Space42 plans to launch Airbus-built Al Yah 4 on Falcon 9 in 2027 and Al Yah 5 in 2028.
PLD Space plans its first Miura 5 launch from Etlaq in 2027, and Latitude its first experimental flight there in late 2027. Arabsat 7A from Thales Alenia Space and Oman’s Airbus-built OmanSat-1 have no published launch date.
Want to read more?
For Europe’s own launch record, read our Ariane 6 analysis, our review of Vega C and Avio, the Guiana Space Centre page, the European Launcher Challenge and the European Space Launch Companies Ranking 2026. Launch counts on this page come from Jonathan McDowell’s launch log.
All information in this analysis was obtained from public sources and we encourage you to do your own due diligence. Feel free to contact us for corrections or share our content. Attribution is always welcome.
- HyImpulse Technologies
HyImpulse Technologies builds hybrid paraffin/LOX rockets. SR75-1 flew from Koonibba on 3 May 2024; a UK CAA licence covers SaxaVord for spring 2027. Series A and a Series A Extension above EUR 50 million equity arrived in 2025–26. SL1 targets 600 kg to LEO; HyMOVE is a separate OTV. - Andøya Space Center
Andøya Space Center is a spaceport in northern Norway. Spectrum reached orbit from Andøya on 5 September 2026. Pad 1 is operational and Isar-exclusive; Pad 2 is proposed. Operator Andøya Space AS is 90% Norwegian state and 10% Kongsberg. - SkyroraSkyrora is a Scottish new space company developing the Skyrora XL, a three-stage rocket for up to 315 kg to orbit. Our 2026 analysis covers its owners, accounts, public money and launch plans.
- OrbexOrbex (Orbital Express Launch Ltd): UK microlauncher Prime, 180 kg LEO. In administration since 18 February 2026 after GBP 138.5m raised (GBP 76.7m public). Zero launches. Omnidea bought the Forres assets.
- LatitudeLatitude (formerly Venture Orbital Systems) is a French NewSpace company developing a LOX/RP-1 microlauncher (formerly Zephyr). As of October 2026 it has not flown; Series B raised EUR 27 million; an Etlaq Oman LoI targets an experimental late-2027 inaugural that we treat as optimistic. In-depth analysis on moontomars.space.
