KhalifaSat at your service from 2019
Instead of sending someone on the field to gather information about a certain project, these entities can just utilise the satellite data.” Meera Al Shamsi, head of the remote-sensing application unit, MBRSC
dubai — KhalifaSat, the first UAE-made Earth observation satellite, will provide high-resolution terrestrial images to various local and international government and private entities beginning early next year.
The remote satellite imagery captured with a spatial resolution of 70cm — meaning each pixel represents 70cm of the ground photographed — will be vital for urban planning, environmental studies, and disaster management, including detecting oil spills and monitoring land contamination, engineers at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), the manufacturer of KhalifaSat, said at a Press conference on Monday.
Meera Al Shamsi, head of the remote-sensing application unit at the MBRSC, said: “For urban applications, we will provide entities with analysis reports to show changes of certain projects over a period of time. We can also provide features detecting vegetation, water, and roads to help them facilitate their work.
“This means, instead of sending someone on the field to gather information about a certain project, these entities can just utilise the satellite data,” she added.
While orbiting Earth at a speed of 7km per second at an altitude of 613km, the images that will be captured by KhalifaSat will also benefit several disaster relief organisations.
They can receive satellite data of affected areas, which are not possible to obtain on the ground, within a matter of hours or days, depending on the type of the disaster and available satellite resources.
“In partnership with Sentinel Asia (an agency that promotes international cooperation to monitor natural disasters in the AsiaPacific region), we can support our international and local partners with satellite images of the affected areas to facilitate the deployment of rescue teams accordingly,” Al Shamsi said.
“The satellite data that will be obtained by KhalifaSat can also offer invaluable aid in the water resource management of the UAE. We can provide an analysis of the vegetation in various seasons and send images of water resource availability,” she added.
According to the MBRSC, the focus of KhalifaSat for now will be on research and development as there is no mandate for it to generate income. Images of the earth will be provided for free to local government entities and universities. Commercial use for international partners will be determined later.