After high school, Sultan joined the UAE Armed Forces. He went to Britain where he joined the University of Brighton where he received a BSc (Hons) in Electronics and Communications Engineering in 2004. After being selected to be one of the first two Emirati astronauts, Professor Debra Humphris, University of Brighton Vice-Chancellor, said about Sultan: “We are so proud of our graduate and will be watching his endeavours as an astronaut with great interest.”