MBZ-SAT to be launched in 2023

Our Correspondent

The UAE is planning to launch a new 700-kg satellite in 2023 which will be 100 per cent Emirati-made. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced this project on October 28.

The satellite will be called MBZ-SAT, which is the initials of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, “in honour of the achievements he has contributed to”.

“Our goal is to fully benefit from space science and find new opportunities to support the development of our country and the region, and also help societies overcome environmental and developmental challenges so they can prosper and progress,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said.
The 3m x 5m satellite, which will be the most advanced commercial satellite in the region for high-resolution imagery, will improve image capture resolution by more than double of what is possible now.

It will be the second satellite to be fully developed and built by a team of Emirati engineers after the KhalifaSat – which was named after the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. KhalifaSat, launched in October 2018, was the first satellite to be developed in the Arab world.

MBZ-SAT will have an automated system for arranging images around the clock, ensuring that it provides the highest quality standards of satellite images intended for commercial use globally.

It will be the fourth Earth observation satellite to be developed and launched by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The images it captures will “show details within an area of less than one square metre, which will be one of the most advanced features ever”. According to MBRSC, “the utility of satellite imagery in aiding and tackling natural disasters is in particular very important as they can help gauge the severity of the calamity, help plan relief efforts and aid in rebuilding efforts.”

Amer AlSayegh, Senior Director, Space Engineering Department at the MBRSC, said at a virtual media briefing, that around 200 Emirati engineers and scientists are associated with the project.

The satellite will have a life span of at least five to seven years, and is to be launched into Low Earth Observation (LEO) at an altitude of 500 to 600 km away from the Earth’s surface. It will be orbiting the Earth from pole to pole.