As a child, Stan Rudenko walked past a full-scale Soyuz rocket on his way to school — a daily reminder that his hometown was unlike any other on Earth.
He grew up in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, a sealed Soviet-era city built solely to serve the world’s largest spaceport. Streets were lined with monuments to cosmonauts and engineers, and daily life revolved around launch schedules rather than school bells.
Today, at 42, Mr Rudenko is based in Abu Dhabi, where he leads Aspire Space, one of the UAE’s most ambitious private-sector space ventures. His mission: to design, manufacture and launch fully reusable rockets from the Gulf.
Mr Rudenko still remembers the earth-shaking roar of launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome, where his father helped lead operations for the Zenit space programme.
“Everything in our lives revolved around launches,” he told The Gulf Talk. “I remember the Buran spaceplane landing, escorted by fighter jets. It felt like a moment of national triumph.”
Once the nerve centre of the Soviet space empire, Baikonur was the site from which the first satellite and the first human were launched into orbit. But following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 and Kazakhstan’s independence, activity slowed dramatically. Like thousands of others, the Rudenko family eventually left the fading rocket town.
Although spaceflight remained a constant fascination, Mr Rudenko initially pursued a conventional career, earning a law degree in St Petersburg and working for multinational firms.
“Life brought me back to rockets,” he said. “Today, we’re working with some of the best engineers in the world — and we’re doing it from the UAE.”
Made in the Emirates: Reusable Rockets for a New Space Economy
Originally founded in Luxembourg, Aspire Space has since relocated its headquarters to the UAE, aligning itself with the country’s long-term ambition to become a global space hub.
The company is developing Oryx, a two-stage, fully reusable orbital launch system designed to support satellite deployment, space station resupply, in-orbit research and cargo return missions.
What sets Oryx apart is its full reusability. While most modern launch systems recover only the booster, Aspire’s design enables both stages to return safely to Earth.
“This is not just a rocket — it’s a reusable space vehicle,” Mr Rudenko said. “The second stage functions as a spacecraft, capable of carrying out multiple orbital tasks before returning. Launch is only the first phase.”
He believes true reusability is essential to making spaceflight economically and environmentally sustainable.
“It makes no sense to discard high-value hardware into the ocean,” he said. “Reusability creates a cycle where costs fall as flight frequency increases, much like commercial aviation.”
The Oryx system will be powered by methane-liquid oxygen engines, developed in partnership with Dubai-based LEAP 71, which uses artificial intelligence to design advanced propulsion systems.
Aspire’s engineering team includes veterans from landmark programmes such as Zenit, Energia–Buran and Sea Launch, bringing decades of experience from some of the most advanced heavy-lift projects ever developed.
Chief technology officer Sergey Alekseevich Sopov said the rocket’s design reflects this heritage.
“Reusability isn’t just about landing a rocket,” he said. “It’s about preserving and returning its economic value.”
That philosophy, he added, requires a cultural shift in engineering.
“Every component — from structures to avionics — is designed with service life, rapid turnaround and digital traceability in mind. In a reusable system, there are no minor parts.”
Launch Sites in the Gulf and Beyond
Aspire plans to operate two launch locations: one within the UAE to ensure sovereign access to space, and a second in Kazakhstan, where established flight corridors allow for higher launch frequency.
Mr Rudenko said discussions are ongoing regarding a UAE launch site, while Kazakhstan currently offers the infrastructure needed for commercial cadence.
He added that Oman’s Etlaq spaceport is also being closely monitored as the Gulf’s space launch ecosystem continues to evolve.
In parallel, Aspire aims to build a full manufacturing and testing pipeline in the UAE, including engine test stands and full-stage firing facilities.
“We have an ambitious timeline for testing real hardware,” Mr Rudenko said. “These facilities are essential to turning vision into operational capability.”
Aspire Space will showcase its rocket programme at the UAE Space Pavilion during the Dubai Airshow, where a scale model of the Oryx launcher will be displayed to industry leaders and policymakers.
A New Chapter in the Gulf’s Space Story
From a childhood shaped by Soviet-era launches to leading a next-generation space company in Abu Dhabi, Stan Rudenko’s journey mirrors the UAE’s own rise as a serious player in the global space economy.
As the Gulf accelerates its push into space science, advanced manufacturing and sovereign launch capability, projects like Aspire Space signal a future where rockets are not just launched from the region — they are built here.
