DubaiSat-1: celebrating five years of spectacular views of the UAE from space

Since its launch in 2009, the spacecraft has helped the UAE government with key projects.

DubaiSat-1 celebrates its 5th anniversary in space with a snapshot of Dubai. Courtesy Eiast

DUBAI // The UAE’s first government satellite, DubaiSat-1, has now been circling the globe for five years.

Since its launch in 2009 from a former Soviet base in Kazakhstan, the satellite has helped to provide government bodies and the private sector with pictures and data for strategic initiatives and development projects.

“After five years of its launch, DubaiSat-1 remains an achievement of which the institution can be proud,” said Salem Al Marri, assistant director general for scientific and technical affairs at Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (Eiast), which oversaw the project.

Among the images it has transmitted, the satellite, which cost US$50 million (Dh183.6m) to develop, captured imagery for the Emirates Atlas, a physical and online map of the UAE.

The atlas, available on the Eiast website, provides an aerial snapshot of the different emirates, while documenting the fast-changing landscape of the country. “The launch of DubaiSat-1 five years ago, and its accurate and regular operation since then, is a true testament to the success of the institution strategy built upon the transfer of modern knowledge and advanced technology to empower human resources to manufacture and operate satellites,” said Yousuf Al Shaibani, director general of Eiast.

Images captured by the satellite, now in orbit 682 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, has aided in urban planning, monitoring climate change, assessing natural disasters like sand storms and fog, identifying the quality of water in the region and monitoring the red tide.

The satellite has been useful in helping Eiast formulate disaster recovery missions during the floods in Pakistan in 2010 and the Japanese Tsunami in 2011.

The spacecraft was developed by a South Korean company with help of a team from Eiast.

The DubaiSat-1 project was a challenge for Eiast as it was its first, said Mr Al Shaibani.

But he said the UAE has proved its progress and advancement in space science to strengthen its position as a global leader.

DubaiSat-1 is the first of a series of Earth-imaging satellites.

In November last year Eiast launched DubaiSat-2 into space, while a team of Emirati engineers are working on a third satellite, KhalifaSat, which will be launched in 2017.

KhalifaSat’s image resolution is expected to be 30 per cent greater than that of DubaiSat-2. It is the first satellite designed and built entirely by Emiratis.

The UAE has invested Dh20 billion in space technology, through the Eiast in Dubai, and Al Yah Satellite and Al Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications in Abu Dhabi.