In 2017, two men announced that the United Arab Emirates would send its own astronauts into space: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and beside him his son and heir, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The UAE Astronaut Programme born that day would carry Emirati astronauts to the International Space Station — and announce, in the boldest possible terms, the arrival of what Emiratis now call the astronaut generation.
That the announcement was made by father and son together was itself the message: this was not one ruler’s vanity project but a dynasty’s commitment, spanning the generations who would build it and the generation who would fly it. This guide tells the story of Sheikh Hamdan’s place in the UAE’s leap to orbit.
A Promise Made in Public
Space programmes are usually born in ministries. The UAE’s was born in an announcement — a public promise, jointly made, that set a young nation’s imagination alight. For Sheikh Hamdan, whose portfolio already held the future files of Dubai, the space programme fitted a pattern: the Future Foundation’s foresight, the digital economy, and now the ultimate future file — the one that leaves the planet.
The promise was kept in the Dubai style: as a programme, with selection, training and missions that put Emirati astronauts aboard the International Space Station. A generation of Emirati schoolchildren watched countrymen float in orbit and recalculated what a life from this small, ambitious country could contain.
Why the Crown Prince’s Name Is on It
Space is the longest of long games — decades between decision and destiny. Placing the heir’s name beside the founder’s at the announcement was dynastic engineering: it bound the programme to the generation that would sustain it. Sheikh Hamdan leads Dubai’s future establishment; the astronaut programme is that establishment’s most visible proof that “future” in this family’s vocabulary is not a slogan but a budget line with a launch date.
It also speaks to his personal register. The skydiver who jumps from aircraft, the diver who descends to the reef — the man of the elements — now stood sponsor to the element above all of them. In the story Emiratis tell about him, orbit is simply the highest finish line yet.
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The Generation It Created
The programme’s deepest payload was never equipment; it was aspiration. Science enrolments, engineering ambitions, a thousand school projects — the astronaut generation measures success in changed minds. And in the long ledger of Sheikh Hamdan’s leadership, few entries will outshine it: the Crown Prince who, with his father, pointed a young country at the stars — and then watched its sons and daughters go there.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the UAE Astronaut Programme announced?
In 2017, announced by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Hamdan together.
What has the programme achieved?
It has taken Emirati astronauts to the International Space Station — turning a 2017 promise into flown missions.
Why did father and son announce it together?
To bind the programme to both the founding vision and the generation that will sustain it — a dynastic commitment, not a single reign’s project.
How does space fit Sheikh Hamdan’s portfolio?
He leads Dubai’s future files — the Future Foundation ecosystem and future-technology agenda — of which the space age is the ultimate expression.
What is the “astronaut generation”?
The generation of young Emiratis whose ambitions were reshaped by seeing their countrymen in orbit — the programme’s deepest legacy.
