An international team from Serco presented at the 17th SpaceOps conference in the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre at Dubai World Trade Centre last week, also announcing the launch of a new Space division for the Middle East.
The new division will be headed by Amar Vora, who transfers from Serco's Space division in the United Kingdom.
Around 2,000 Serco employees currently support civil and military space programmes operated by several organisations, including the European Space Agency, UK Ministry of Defence and the US Space Command.
The new Middle East Space division is expected to support the Saudi Space Commission which announced a new astronaut programme to send a woman into space last year and is part of the Kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 development programme.
Vora, who has worked closely with the European Space Agency and several national agencies on solution development in space sustainability, earth observation and space data services, will be prioritising local hires and capacity building, and offering training and robust career development programmes as he builds his new team.
He says: “It is an honour to be asked to lead the charge in such an exciting region, that we truly believe is going to be breaking new ground in what we can do in space.
As a team we are also very much looking forward to harnessing the capabilities and skillsets of local talents on the ground to achieve great things together.
The opportunities for Saudi in space, and indeed the region, are literally infinite.”
Phil Malem, Serco Middle East CEO, says: “In establishing our Middle East Space division, Serco will be bringing decades of experience and expertise to a region where capabilities might still be relatively new, but there is very much the potential and resources to quickly become one of the leading countries worldwide in the space industry.
“Amar Vora is a highly skilled member of our international space division and under his guidance we will be building a local division, with locally trained team members, that will support both the goals of the Saudi government and Saudi Space Commission within Vision 2030, as well as providing extensive space services for the benefit of local governments and the private sector across the region.”
Daniel MacGregor, Corporate Development Director at Serco, who is overseeing the strategy that has brought the Space division to the region, adds: “Serco’s Space division is both adaptable and agile in the work we currently do globally – which is well-suited for the new, emerging space market in the Middle East.
Our approach is going to push boundaries, with a wide scope for innovative, experimental work to reach the big, but achievable ambitions of the Saudi government, Vision 2030 and beyond.”
Serco plans to establish local capabilities across the full range of advisory, consultancy and operational space services it offers globally in the region, spanning the full lifecycle of a mission, from spacecraft and mission design through to data management, operations and decommissioning, including spacecraft control, ground segment operations and engineering.
