Space42’s Mira Aerospace opens MENA’s first HAPs factory

Details: John Tanner; Category: Satellite Networks; 20 May 2025; 2780 views

UAE-based satellite firm Space42 said on Monday that its high altitude platform stations (HAPS) subsidiary Mira Aerospace has opened a HAPS manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi, making it the first such facility in the MENA region.

Space42 said the new 4,500-square-metre facility will significantly enhance Mira Aerospace’s production capabilities by delivering more than 20 HAPS UAVs annually, supporting civil, environmental, and defense applications.

It will also drive advanced R&D and support the commercialization of HAPS technology, which is gaining serious traction, said Mira Aerospace CEO Khaled Al Marzooqi.

“As the global demand for HAPS accelerates, Space42 is making strategic investments to strengthen our leadership in this growing market,” he said in a statement.

A report issued earlier this month from DataM Intelligence estimated that the global HAPs market reached US$1.64 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US$ 3.13 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 8.40%.

Space42 said the manufacturing facility was the latest key milestone for Mira, following a partnership deal with local training, testing, and evaluation (TT&E) facility XRangein February 2025 to establish a permanent testing hub for long-endurance UAV trials.

In October last year, Mira developed two payloads – one for EO and one for telecoms – to support various applications, including environmental monitoring, disaster management, urban planning, and agriculture. The telecoms payload provides direct-to-device connectivity and data relay between aerial and ground platforms.

Mira successfully conducted a 5G connectivity using HAPS technology in October 2023.

Space42 also said the new Mira HAPS facility is part of a series of targeted investments by the company to expand vertically integrated manufacturing and data infrastructure.

For example, Space42 is collaborating with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation operator ICEYE to co-produce LEO earth observation (EO) satellites in the UAE. Space42 and ICEYE have launched two such satellites so far, the most recent one reaching orbit in January 2025.