Dubai’s ‘DEWA SAT-2’ nanosatellite undergoes testing ahead of launch later this year

Dubai: Dubai’s ‘DEWA SAT-2,’ a nanosatellite used for improving electricity and water networks, has undergone testing ahead of its launch later this year, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority announced on Monday.

A delegation from DEWA’s Research and Development Centre recently visited NanoAvionics in Lithuania to follow up on the latest developments in ‘DEWA SAT-2’, a 6U nanosatellite, which DEWA plans to launch this year, the authority said.

During the visit, the team conducted comprehensive technical tests of the hardware and software of nanosatellite which will be launched as part of DEWA’s Space Programme (Space-D).

This included a high-resolution camera (4.7 metres) that will be used for Earth observation missions using MultiScape100 CIS technology. The technology provides continuous line-scan imaging in 7 spectral bands from a 500km orbit. Infrared equipment to measure greenhouse gases was also tested.

“Space-D, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in January 2021, aims to make nanosatellites a complementary technology to the ground IoT (Internet of Things) communications network,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.

He said this will support the digitisation of the power and water networks, and enhance the planning, operations, and preventative maintenance for the generation, distribution, and transmission divisions as well as the smart grids and the electric vehicle charging stations.

Cost cutting

“This will also cut costs, improve investment in DEWA’s assets, share knowledge and experience, train DEWA’s Emirati staff, and develop use-cases for advancing the utility sector worldwide. We are preparing to launch a 6U nanosatellite later this year, after the success of the DEWA-SAT1 satellite, which was launched in January 2022,” added Al Tayer.

It was during the recently concluded 10th World Government Summit in Dubai that Al Tayer announced DEWA’s plans to launch the second nanosatellite later this year.

Waleed Bin Salman, executive vice president of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA, said that the R&D Centre supports DEWA’s efforts to use the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies in the energy sector.

He noted that the use of satellite network communications, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) contribute to improving the efficiency of the photovoltaic solar panels at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, according to the independent power producer (IPP) model.

DEWA launched the DEWA-SAT 1 nanosatellite in January 2022, in collaboration with NanoAvionics, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex in Florida, USA. DEWA is the world’s first utility to use nanosatellites to improve the operations, maintenance, and planning of electricity and water networks.