UAE miniature satellite made by students now orbiting Earth
DHABISAT’S SUCCESSFUL DEPLOYMENT MARKS ANOTHER MILESTONE
DhabiSat, a cube satellite (CubeSat) made by students at Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KUST), is now orbiting the Earth after leaving the International Space Station (ISS), the Abu Dhabi-based university announced yesterday.
According to KUST, the deployment of DhabiSat “marks another milestone event for the UAE”. It is the second CubeSat designed and built by KUST students at Yahsat Space Lab. It will enable students to further design, implement, and test software as well as record data to support future CubeSat missions. KUST’s first CubeSat, MySat-1, was launched in February 2019.
Primary mission
DhabiSat, which was created in collaboration with Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), was deployed into orbit from Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus resupply spacecraft.
The primary mission of DhabiSat is to enable students to design, implement and test software modules for attitude determination and control subsystems (ADCS). In terms of system resources, DhabiSat will require less power to achieve the targeted pointings and, if successful, the algorithms will gain flight heritage on board DhabiSat, which then can be used as a baseline for future CubeSat missions.
Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Khalifa University executive vice-president, said: “With the deployment of DhabiSat into its orbital slot, our students and our partners have once again registered another key milestone for Khalifa University and the UAE. We thank our partners Yahsat and Northrop Grumman, who have supported our students throughout the process of designing, developing and launching DhabiSat.”
“As the UAE begins to consolidate its status as a space power in the world, we look forward to creating more scientific talent and human capital, especially in the space science sector, along with our academic and industry partners,” he added.
Muna Almheiri, Yahsat’s chief human capital officer, noted: “(DhabiSat) is a significant step in the UAE’s mission to develop homegrown talent to lead its National Space Programme. We need future generations of Emirati space leaders and visionaries to fulfil the aspirations of our founding fathers, and the rich potential of our nation.”
With the deployment of DhabiSat into its orbital slot, our students and our partners have once again registered another key milestone for Khalifa University and the UAE.” Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi | Executive Vice-President of Khalifa University