KhalifaSat getting final checks ahead of launch
First Emirati-made satellite will be put into orbit on board Japanese rocket on October 29
Emirati engineers from the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) are carrying out final checks in Japan ahead of KhalifaSat’s launch on October 29.
In less than 12 days, the UAE’s first Emirati-made satellite will be launched into orbit on board the MHI’s H-IIA rocket from the JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Centre, an island south of Japan.
In a Twitter post yesterday, KhalifaSat engineers working with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries visited the launch site. They also posted a sneak peek of the launch pad and Vehicle Assembly Building, where the rocket carrying KhalifaSat will be stored until the launch.
The team led by Amer Al Sayegh, KhalifaSat’s project manager, also conducted evaluations of the final launch preparations. KhalifaSat is a highly advanced earth observation satellite that will orbit the earth from pole to pole, at a distance of 613km.
Start-ups honoured
In Dubai, MBRSC yesterday honoured three start-ups that won the Gitex Future Stars’ ‘Innovation Challenge’ at the Gitex Technology Week 2018.
Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, MBRSC’s director-general, presented prizes to Equatorial Space Industries that won first place, Cemvita Factory Inc that ranked second, and BRAQ Aerospace LLC that came in third.