UAE crosses new space frontier with MBZ-SAT
- 14 Jan 2025
Jamil Khan/Agencies
The UAE opened a new chapter in its space history by launching three satellites including the region’s most advanced satellite named in honour of the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan “MBZ-SAT,” from California on Tuesday night.
Precisely at 11:09pm, UAE time, the most advanced satellite in the region, designated “MBZ-SAT” was successfully launched into orbit by a “Falcon 9” rocket operated by “SpaceX” from “Vandenberg” Air Force Base in California, US.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, grandson of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, who graduated from the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, attended the launched.
The development of the MBZ-SAT satellite by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) signifies a substantial advancement in the United Arab Emirates’ endeavours in the domain of space exploration.
Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, also light off to celebrate the most advanced satellite in the region, MBZ-SAT.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre has developed this system autonomously, with the objective of enhancing the country’s capabilities in disaster management and overall quality of life.
The system is capable of producing accurate images on a continuous basis, with a spatial resolution that is less than a square metre. This represents a tenfold increase in productivity compared to the centre’s current output, and facilitates the rapid dissemination of captured data, which in turn enhances the immediate benefits derived from the system across various sectors.
The Centre had earlier announced that the MBZ-SAT team had completed final tests at the SpaceX facilities, USA, with the satellite integrated on to the Falcon 9 rocket.
The satellite was announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai in 2020 and was officially approved for launch by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and President of MBRSC, earlier last year.
MBZ-SAT, fully developed by Emirati engineers at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), represents a milestone in the UAE’s space exploration journey, showcasing cutting-edge Earth observation capabilities. It was developed at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre and contributes to disaster management and improving life by producing high-resolution images around the clock, with a detail area of less than one square metre.
Its capabilities are ten times greater than the centre’s current productivity, sharing captured data three times faster, enabling immediate benefits to enhance various sectors.
With a total mass of 750kg, and dimensions of 3m x 5m, that satellite has twice the imaging accuracy of its predecessors, ten times more imagery, and rapid data delivery within two hours. Equipped with advanced electric propulsion, precise navigation, and a high-resolution camera, it can deliver precision in imaging locations, which supports applications like environmental monitoring, infrastructure management, and disaster relief. The satellite’s development, in collaboration with UAE-based companies has also driven economic growth and knowledge transfer, strengthening the nation’s aerospace ecosystem and global competitiveness in space technology.
Once operational in low Earth orbit, MBZ-SAT will be managed from the Mission Control Centre at MBRSC, with teams monitoring its operations and analysing data transmitted back to Earth.
After its development in the UAE, MBZ-SAT was transported to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in the Republic of Korea, where comprehensive environmental testing was successfully completed.
These rigorous tests, designed to ensure the satellite’s resilience under the extreme conditions of space, included Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) testing, Vibration testing, Acoustic testing, and Mass Properties testing. The satellite was then transported to the launch site at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA for launch preparations.