Mira Aerospace, the High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) subsidiary of Space42, the UAE-based AI-powered SpaceTech company, has established MENA’s first HAPS manufacturing centre in Abu Dhabi. The new facility will significantly enhance Mira Aerospace’s production capabilities, drive advanced R&D, support the commercialisation of HAPS technology, and lay the foundation for long-term, sustainable growth.
The state-of-the-art, 4,500-square-meter centre will deliver more than 20 HAPS UAVs annually, supporting civil, environmental, and defense applications. The facility marks a strategic milestone in the company’s mission to position the UAE at the forefront of sovereign aerospace and space-based connectivity innovation.
Enhanced sovereign capabilities
Contributing to the UAE’s National Space Strategy 2030, Space42 is playing a critical role in the nation’s efforts to build sovereign space technology, manufacturing, and research and development capabilities. Space is a cornerstone of the UAE’s technology roadmap, accelerating innovation and strengthening national resilience in advanced industries, and the new HAPS facility is a direct reflection of and commitment to this national priority.
Khaled Al Marzooqi, CEO of Mira Aerospace, Space42,said: “As the global demand for HAPS accelerates, Space42 is making strategic investments to strengthen our leadership in this growing market. The decision to build our new HAPS manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi reflects our commitment to creating reliable, cost-effective systems with advanced space technology and plays a central role in developing sovereign capabilities that support our long-term business objectives and the UAE’s broader economic goals.”
Supporting a broader strategic vision
The HAPS facility is part of a series of targeted investments by Space42 to expand vertically integrated manufacturing and data infrastructure. The company is also collaborating with ICEYE to co-produce Earth Observation (EO) satellites in the UAE. These efforts will directly advance the UAE’s EO Space Programme, designed to build national capabilities in satellite-based remote sensing. The UAE is currently the only country in the Middle East and one of the few space-faring nations with domestic aerospace manufacturing capabilities.
Space42 strategy
Major investments, such as the HAPS facility, fit into Space42’s broader strategy to efficiently scale the business and expand impact across the global industry. By developing in-house competencies that evolve with market needs, the new facility provides a competitive edge and creates long-term growth value for Space42 and its stakeholders.
Designed to centralise global operations and meet the rising demand for HAPS solutions, the facility supports Space42’s strategic initiative to be the preferred partner for premium geospatial data. With local manufacturing capabilities, the business is strongly positioned to build differentiated competencies, ensure operations scale efficiently, and continue to demonstrate strong financial stewardship.
Space42’s HAPS advancements
The new manufacturing hub will be the latest in a series of major milestones for Mira Aerospace. In February 2025, the company partnered with XRANGE, a multi-domain Training, Testing, and Evaluation (TT&E) facility, to establish a permanent testing hub for high-altitude, long-endurance UAV trials. In October 2024, Mira Aerospace developed two advanced payloads to support various applications, including environmental monitoring, disaster management, urban planning, and agriculture. The EO payload offers sharp and precise data to aid critical decision-making, and the Telecommunications payload provides direct-to-device connectivity and data relay between aerial and ground platforms. Space42 is one of the leading companies globally in the HAPS domain, and the first in the world to demonstrate 5G connectivity from the stratosphere using heavier-than-air HAPS.
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