The UAE will soon be home to a new challenger in the orbital launch race. Aspire Space, a Luxembourg-based startup founded by veterans of Soviet-era and commercial launch programs, is relocating its headquarters to Dubai and has partnered with LEAP 71, a computational engineering firm based in the city, to build a fully reusable space launch system targeting low Earth orbit missions.
The company plans to debut a large MethaLOX-powered vehicle capable of lifting up to 15 metric tons to orbit, backed by a propulsion system developed entirely using LEAP 71’s AI-native design platform. The goal is to begin flight tests by 2030. A launch site has yet to be confirmed, though Oman’s Etlaq spaceport is under consideration, according to Semafor.
LEAP 71 will design Aspire’s propulsion stack using Noyron, its proprietary Large Computational Engineering Model. Unlike generative AI, which is probabilistic, Noyron operates on a deterministic physics-based foundation. Its ability to autonomously generate manufacturable, high-performance hardware has already yielded complex systems such as aerospikes — long considered prohibitively difficult to develop through conventional means. Aspire’s first-stage engines will be based on LEAP 71’s XRB-2E6 reference engine, which produces 2,000 kN of thrust, placing it in the same performance class as SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
“For decades, my team and I built rockets the old way — reliable, but slow,” said Aspire CTO Sergey Sopov. “Now begins a new era. What LEAP 71 offers is the ability to finally turn our expertise into code, paving the way for rapid development with constant iterations.”
Aspire also plans to build a reusable spacecraft capable of transporting up to two metric tons to and from orbital stations. In the long term, it aims to combine both systems into a fully integrated, two-stage rocketship.
“Sovereign access to space and rapid reusability are foundational to participating in one of the world’s most dynamic and aspirational sectors,” said Aspire CEO Stan Rudenko. “LEAP 71 gives us direct access to propulsion systems right here in the UAE — a strategic advantage that made relocating our entire team an easy decision.”
The UAE has invested heavily in becoming a regional space power. Its Hope probe reached Mars in 2021, and its astronauts have flown to the International Space Station. The country is also planning new interplanetary missions despite high-profile setbacks, including the 2023 loss of the Rashid lunar rover when the spacecraft carrying it crash-landed on the Moon.
Aspire’s project marks one of the first large-scale orbital ambitions led by the private sector in the Emirates, and positions the country as a viable base for developing commercial launch capability. Hot-fire tests of the new propulsion system are scheduled to begin in 2026.
