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Yahsat has announced that its third satellite Al Yah 3 has successfully completed its in-orbit testing Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: The third satellite launched by UAE-based global satellite operator Yahsat into space this year has completed its orbit testing and is now ready to start offering commercial services, it was announced on Wednesday.

Yahsat, wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company, in a statement on Wednesday announced the successful mission completion of Al Yah 3 located at 20W. The satellite was launched into orbit from French Guiana in January this year to expand Yahsat’s Ka-band coverage to 19 additional markets across Africa covering 60 per cent of the population.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has commended the successful launch of Yahsat 3.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Shaikh Mohammad said: “This is yet another achievement for the Emirati youth and the UAE. The satellite Yahsat 3 was successfully launched with the participation and management of the UAE. Today, the UAE youth are reaching new heights and realizing new achievement and ambition. This is what Zayed wanted them to be”.

“The UAE space project is rapidly moving forward thanks to the unlimited support and continuous follow-up by my brother Mohammad Bin Zayed. Our investments in the aerospace sector amount to Dh 20 billion. We have the largest space sector in the region and soon the first Arab probe will reach Mars. Thank you Mohammad Bin Zayed”, Shaikh Mohammad tweeted.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, also lauded the Yahsat team for their success and assured them of the country’s continuous support.

“Congratulations to all Yahsat teams and partners. We will continue to support our ambitious youth and national institutions and invest in the development of technologies to serve our strategic objectives and benefit the people,” Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed said in a tweet.

“The UAE is making great strides in the field of the future sciences and communications technology. The success of the Yahsat satellite mission, with the participation of talented young Emiratis, embodies our vision to build a better future for UAE and humanity,” he added.

Al Yah 3 is the first hybrid electric propulsion GEOStar-3 satellite to be completed by Orbital ATK. Its manufacturing involved a project management team comprising Emirati engineers who have been based at Orbital ATK’s satellite manufacturing facility in Virginia, US. The engineers were critical in ensuring the successful end-to-end delivery of the satellite into orbit.

This success marks Yahsat’s first entry into Brazil, where 95 per cent of the population will have access to its satellite broadband services. Yahsat is the first company in the Middle East and Africa to offer multi-purpose satellite services.

Masoud M. Sharif Mahmoud, CEO of Yahsat, said access to the internet is a key facilitator of social and economic progress.

“Today, broadband connectivity is playing an important role in creating new opportunities and in accelerating innovation. We are excited by the opportunity Al Yah 3 brings in our ability to deliver reliable and affordable satellite broadband services to parts of the world that need it the most, building upon our previous achievements as pioneers of such services across Africa, the Middle East and south-west Asia,” he said.

“It has been an incredible journey for us and a very proud moment for both Yahsat and for the UAE. Our engineers have been heavily involved in managing all aspects of the project, including design, development and launch. We are now focusing on the commercial launch of our services using Al Yah 3 over the coming weeks,” he added.

During its launch in January, the satellite briefly “lost” contact with the European space centre in Kourou. Three hours after launch, however, the slight hiccup was sorted out as the satellite was declared “healthy”.

Yahsat has already launched two satellites — Al Yah 1 in 2011 and Al Yah 2 in 2012. Both satellites provide broadband and communication services to 140 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, among others.

What is the Al Yah 3 satellite

Specifications: Spacecraft

Launch Mass: 3,790 kg (8,338 lb.)

Batteries: Li-Ion batteries

Mission Life: 15 years

Payload: Produces approximately 7.5 kilowatts of payload electrical power

Repeater: 53 operational user beams, 4 operational gateway beams

Antenna: 8 payload reflectors on deployable pallets

- The Ka-band spot beams provide two-way communications services to facilitate high-speed delivery of data to end-user applications such as broadband Internet and corporate networking as well as IP backhaul for telecommunications service providers.

Mission: Ka-band Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) Communications

Coverage: Africa and Brazil

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Yahsat is the first company in the Middle East and Africa to offer multi-purpose satellite services. Image Credit: Twitter
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