Ibadan, 12 February 2024. – On the sidelines of the Space Debris Conference in Riyadh, the Saudi Space Agency signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Leo Labs and NorthStar, respectively. The MoU with Leo Labs aims to build a cooperative relationship in the field of space monitoring. Both agreements aim to exchange expertise and knowledge related to space situational awareness and explore future collaboration opportunities between the Saudi Space Agency and both NorthStar and LeoLabs.
Under the agreement with Leo Labs, the two parties will collaborate to support the growth of the Saudi space industry, develop research and development capabilities in space situational awareness data, and innovative applications to adopt best practices and responsible supervision of the low Earth orbit. They will also explore a comprehensive range of long-term benefits for the parties to the memorandum based on the possibility of the company’s investment in the Kingdom.
Additionally, they will deepen their cooperation in areas and projects related to the strategic contributions that the company can offer in the field of awareness and facilitate discussions with relevant entities to establish facilities and subsidiaries in the Kingdom.
The agreement with NorthStar, in addition to developing SSA capabilities, also focuses on managing space traffic, with an emphasis on research and exploration in space sustainability, space environment, and various sensing technologies, as well as exploring advanced data analytics capabilities. Both parties will also work to support the growth of the space industry in the Kingdom, develop research and development capabilities, and explore opportunities to build a center of excellence specialized in space situational awareness.
