Abased in Bu Dhabi Marlan Rooma new space company affiliated with International Holding Company (IHC) has entered into a joint venture with Loft Orbital to establish Orbitworks, the Middle East’s first private space infrastructure company.
Orbitworks marks a major milestone in the UAE’s fast-growing space sector, becoming the first company to produce commercial satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO). With an initial investment of over US$100 million, Orbitworks aims to produce up to 50 500kg satellites annually. Founded in 2017, Loft Orbital brings extensive expertise, technology and an outstanding reputation to the company, supporting a wide range of missions in telecommunications, Earth observation and scientific research.
Orbitworks will soon begin construction of a state-of-the-art facility that will utilize advanced hardware, software and industrial technologies for satellite integration and testing.
Orbitworks has secured components for its first ten satellites, the first of which could be launched as early as the first quarter of 2026. Orbitworks will help Loft Orbital advance its vision of flying any payload into orbit for any customer in the shortest possible time.
Orbitworks aims to partner with local component manufacturers and technology providers in the UAE, leveraging Loft’s solutions for seamless technology integration.
The first satellite platform is scheduled to be assembled, integrated and tested in early 2025. Loft and Marlan have begun recruiting talent both internationally and in the UAE, with a focus on hardware, software, test engineering and other aerospace engineering disciplines.
The UAE has built one of the world’s most advanced AI ecosystems and Orbitworks will partner with AI companies and research organizations by providing them with an easy path to get their apps into orbit.
Pierre-Damien Vaujour, CEO of Loft Orbital based in San Franciscocommented, “We have long believed in the dynamism and growth of the UAE’s space sector and are proud to play a small part in the country’s journey to becoming a space power. From the moment we first met Marlan Space, we were excited by their vision to bring large-scale production and operations of LEO satellite constellations to the UAE. We are excited to support and partner with all players in the country’s space, satellite, cloud and AI industries.”
