47BloombergBusinessweek June 29, 2020
day-to-dayleadershipofSaudiArabiain2017,atage31,he
styledhimselfa reformerandmodernizer.Centraltohis
ambitionswashisVision 2030 plan,whichsoughttoeconom-
icallydiversifyanddevelopthekingdom.Heendeda banon
womendriving,weakenedthemaleguardianshipsystem,
allowedgender-mixedpublicconcerts,andembarkedona U.S.
goodwilltour.Atthesametime,MBSjailedrivals,opponents,
andactivists,includingsomeofthosewho’dcampaignedfor
women’srighttodrive,andcarriedonthecampaigninYemen.
Then,inOctober2018,a killteamasphyxiatedanddismem-
beredjournalistandgovernmentcriticJamalKhashoggiinside
SaudiArabia’sIstanbulconsulate.U.S.intelligenceagencies
concludedthatthecrownprincehadorderedthehit.(MBS
deniedthisbutsaidhetakesresponsibilityforthemurder.)
LessthanthreemonthsafterKhashoggi’sassassination,
a royaldecreeestablishedtheSaudiSpaceAgency.Prince
Sultanbecameitshead,aftera decadeatopthetourismmin-
istry.Hisnewrolewouldincludeoverseeingoperationsand
coordinatingMBS’sspaceinitiativeswithcounterpartsinthe
U.S.,Russia,France,andelsewhere.
I metwithSultaninRiyadhinApril.KACSThadconstructed
a colossalandstill-expandingfacilityonthecity’swesternout-
skirts,butthespaceagencyhadn’tyetbeenassigneda head-
quarters,sotheprincewasworkingoutofanunusedsection
oftheKingSalmanCenterforDisabilityResearch.A photoof
theEarth,viewedoverthelunarhorizonwithSaudiArabia
prominent,hungonthewall.It hadbeentakenduringChina’s
Chang'e-4mission,towhichKACSThadcontributed.
Sultanarrivedwitha largeentourage.Nowinhismid-60s,
hewasstillimmediatelyrecognizable,thoughhisfaceis
broaderandhismustachegrayerthaninhis1980sNASApub-
licitypictures,andhishairwasconcealedbeneatha tradi-
tionalheaddress.Anaidecautionedthattheinterviewwas
tobe“onlyaboutspace.”Khashoggi’smurderwasstillmak-
ingheadlines,andI’dpickedupmyvisafromtheconsulate
wherehe’dbeenkilled.
Theprincespokelikea manwho’srarelyinterrupted,list-
ingthemanymeritsoftheSaudipeople(“innovative,”“very
modern,”and“open-minded,regardlessofanythingyousee
orhear”)andmusingwistfullyaboutspendinga yearinSouth
America.Hespokeofsummerplanstojoina bushpilotoper-
ationfor 10 daysandofhisdesiretotrackdownChuckYeager,
whosehandhe’donceshaken.Hetoldmeabouta blood
feudinwhichhe’dinterceded 17 years ago and predicted that
Saudi Arabia would one day win the World Cup.
When he spoke about the agency’s plans, he grew serious.
There would be more Saudis in space, he said. Inspiring Saudi
youth was important, but he wanted to see scientists flying,
too. “What is the return for our country? It’s very critical that
we don’t do anything just for flag-waving.” To that end, he
planned to found a space business entity. “We are focusing
on being an incubator. I think any country that’s going to go
anywhere in the future has to really focus as much as pos-
sible on entrepreneurs.” It was the language of NewSpace,
opportunity and startup culture in service of humankind—
entirely consistent with MBS’s Vision 2030 rhetoric.
Saudi Arabia’s space program, like the UAE’s, is some-
times viewed as having a whitewashing effect. Tamara
Cofman Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
and former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, says
that,whetherit’smoonshotsortheplannedcoastal“smart
city”ofNeom,bigtechnologyprojectsarefortheSaudi
government partly “about creating an image of your coun-
try as forward-looking and progressive, and attracting inves-
tors.” She points out that a conference highlighting Neom
took place in Riyadh soon after Khashoggi was murdered. (A
foreign-media liaison office for the Saudi government didn’t
reply to an emailed request for comment.)
There’s also growing evidence that space will play a role
in the battle for military dominance in the Gulf. Iran’s satel-
lite program has in recent years suffered a series of failures,
including a launchpad rocket explosion, but in April, Tehran
claimed to have put its first military satellite in orbit. The UAE,
for its part, has purchased Thales-manufactured high-reso-
lution military observation satellites ostensibly designed to
monitor its borders. At one point during my interview with
Ahbabi, the UAESA director general, he described space as
“the fourth domain of power,” prompting two aides to shift
uncomfortably in their seats and clear their throats in an
apparent attempt to redirect the conversation.
As for Sultan, he refused to be drawn into a discussion
of two imaging satellites Saudi Arabia is known to have
launched in 2018 or on the potential military applications
of space technology. A representative didn’t reply to subse-
quent requests for information.
Less than three weeks after I left Riyadh, authorities
executed 37 people in a single day for “terrorism-related”
offenses, following trials that lawyers and rights groups
called deeply unfair. Most of the condemned were publicly
beheaded, and the body of at least one was displayed after-
ward. In the ensuing months, the Saudi Space Agency signed
a number of agreements to collaborate with its international
counterparts, including the UAESA, and unveiled plans to
establish a national training center. This March saw the war
in Yemen enter its sixth year, with little sign of abating.
Despite the surrounding politics, those involved in the
Saudi and Emirati space programs still see their work as a
pursuit of scientific advancement and international cooper-
ation. Nine days after Mansouri returned from the ISS, he
was welcomed in Abu Dhabi by Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Zayed’s son. Al Nahyan had a
model Soyuz rocket and a request: Could Mansouri explain
its operation and join him in re-creating the 1976 picture of
his father with the U.S. astronauts?
They sat down at an ornate table for what Mansouri
calls one of the most amazing moments of his life. He later
posted the photo on Instagram, side by side with the old one.
“Yesterday, we witnessed the achievement of the world ...
Today, the world celebrates our achievements,” he wrote.
“Zayed’s ambition is creating a new history.” <BW>