Countdown begins to Khalifa Sat launch
Satellite has been fully developed by a team made up of this nation’s space engineers
We live in a nation that is bold, progressive and is prepared to wonder what can be done and work towards that, no matter the challenges. The UAE is a nation that is proud of its past, one that remembers its history and heritage, but embraces the future and believes that it can achieve and fulfil its ambitions, regardless of the challenges.
The UAE too is a nation that has always invested in its people, in knowledge, technology and education, giving the up and coming generations of this land maximum opportunities and the best possible resources to maintain and improve the rate of progress and technological innovation that power this nation on its march of progress. And now, come October 29, with the launch of Khalifa Sat, that march of progress will have passed a new milestone.
Khalifa Sat is the first Emirati satellite that will be launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan, and it has been built and developed by a team entirely made up of young Emirati engineers at the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). There are few nations that have the capability and technology to design and build such a satellite, but doing so with a team of young engineers entirely from within its nation’s borders is almost certainly unique. That in itself is an endorsement of the quality of education and the level of achievement that engages young Emiratis and certainly bodes well for the belief in the policy of Emiratisation. It’s a remarkable achievement or, as Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, noted on Twitter: “Proud of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre, where a team made up entirely of young Emirati engineers have developed the first Emirati satellite, Khalifa Sat.”
It’s also worth noting that this milestone achievement coincides with the Year of Zayed, the Father of the Nation, who set it on a course of scientific advancement and technological development.
Khalifa Sat is the third satellite owned by the MBRSC and once it has passed a rigorous and comprehensive testing phase, it will be ready for launch on October 29. It will be put into a low orbit some 613 kilometres above the Earth, and will be used to capture highly detailed imagery that will be vital for scientists in their work — images that will allow the UAE to compete with others in this highly specialised field around the world. It is rocket science after all.