Saudi Space Agency

The Saudi Space Agency (SSA) is the government body leading Saudi Arabia's national space program, established by royal decree in 2018 and headquartered in Riyadh, coordinating space activities across government ministries, attracting commercial space sector development, and positioning the Kingdom as a significant global space power under the Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy.

The SSA was granted authority to license space activities, negotiate international space agreements, and develop Saudi Arabia's indigenous space sector. The Saudi Space City project in Riyadh envisions a dedicated space innovation hub with satellite manufacturing facilities, research centers, and training infrastructure for Saudi space engineers. The Kingdom targets its indigenous space sector contributing over SAR 8 billion ($2.1 billion) annually to GDP by 2030, with aspirations to launch national Earth observation, communications, and science satellites from domestic soil.

Saudi Arabia's astronaut programs achieved landmark milestones in 2023: Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi flew aboard Axiom Mission 2 to the International Space Station in May 2023, with Barnawi becoming the first Arab woman in space. Saudi Arabia operates the SaudiSat series of Earth observation satellites through KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology) and is the dominant shareholder in Arabsat (Arab Satellite Communications Organization), providing Ka-band and Ku-band GEO broadband and broadcasting capacity across the Arab world and Africa.

The SSA has signed bilateral space cooperation agreements with NASA, ESA, JAXA, and multiple national space agencies, and is developing regulatory frameworks to attract international space companies to establish Saudi Arabia operations as part of the broader Vision 2030 foreign direct investment strategy.