UAE

UAE in Space

SpaceX successfully launches Dubai satellite

The Dewasat-1 cubesat blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre

The National

January 13, 2022

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A Dubai nanosatellite on a mission to improve the emirate's utility network blasted off into orbit on Thursday evening.

The Dewasat-1 cubesat successfully launched on board a SpaceX rocket at about 7.30pm UAE time from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre.

Its spectacular departure from Earth was streamed live on YouTube.

The UAE satellite was one of more than 100 on board the SpaceX Falcon 9.

It successfully separated from the rocket about an hour after lift-off.

The Dubai Water and Electricity Authority announced its Space-D programme last year. It is an effort to improve operations, maintenance and the planning of its networks by using nanosatellite technology.

This involves launching a nanosat constellation that will support Dewa’s primary satellite.

Utility companies can benefit from satellite technology, which allows them to monitor and map their infrastructure as well as track the environmental impact their operations have. The data can also help these companies improve their services.

Dewasat-1, an imaging satellite, will be able to better monitor high-voltage transmission lines, substations, buildings and solar power stations.

Dewa also expects the satellite to enhance the performance and efficiency of the photovoltaic solar panels at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest single-site solar park.

Dewasat-1 is the first of many other satellites Dewa plans to launch.

Saeed Al Tayer, chief executive of Dewa, said the programme would strengthen Dubai's electricity and water networks.

“The programme aims to build Dewa’s capabilities and train Emirati professionals to use space technologies to enhance its electricity and water networks,” he said, when the programme was first announced.

“The programme will take advantage of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and blockchain to exchange information with the help of satellite communications and Earth observation technologies.”

The utility authority has teamed up with US-based NanoAvionics, a small satellite manufacturer, to build Dewasat-1, a three-unit cubesat, and a six-unit cubesat.

Cubesats are miniature satellites that offer easier and cheaper access to space. Some schools have programmes where pupils build 1-unit cubesats, but space companies build more complex ones that are up to three units.

They can be used for a range of applications, including taking images of Earth, monitoring climate change and producing other data.

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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

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Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: January 13, 2022, 5:45 PM