Getting to this point proved to be a particularly challenging process for the UAE, which only had experience launching Earth-observing satellites up until now. The engineers and scientists had just six years to get the probe ready for launch this year, and their government tasked them with building the spacecraft themselves — not buying it — within a set budget of $200 million for development and launch.
This is how true innovation happens, and how a country can build the skills sets as an asset to their industry. It’s much the same with open source – do you pay someone else to use their innovation, or do you build on open source and create something better yourself.
See The United Arab Emirates successfully launches its first spacecraft bound for Mars
"Years of hard work and dedication have paid off in a big way."