Saudis plan third satellite launch

Saudi Arabia plans to launch its third satellite later this year to obtain vital data on weather conditions and oil exploration, besides monitoring the movement of vehicles in the remote regions of the kingdom, sources said yesterday.

The satellite will be put in orbit from a Russian launching station. It will not only help in locating missing vehicles but also in controlling traffic movement across the mountainous border areas of the country with its huge uninhabited deserts, scientists said.

"Saudi Arabia has already successfully launched two satellites, designed by Saudi engineers and scientists trained either in the kingdom or at institutions abroad," Prince Turki bin Saud, Head of the Riyadh-based King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), said in a statement yesterday.

Saudi Arabia is only the second Arab country after Egypt to launch its own satellites.

The Centre for Remote Sensing and Institute of Space Research and other centres of excellence in the region have been entrusted with the task of providing remote sensing technology, including satellite imagery, and generating relevant data for the authorities concerned in the public and private sectors.

These images and data are believed to be vital for continued research and conducting studies in agriculture, geology, and mapping and natural disasters.

Saudi Arabia has recently joined the prestigious UN Committee for Space Research for Peaceful Purposes following the approval from the member states. For the next seven years there will no addition in the membership of this UN committee.

Several research projects in remote sensing and space research have been conducted in the kingdom.

An important study on Red Sea fish resources and another on environment pollution in the country have already been completed.

An exploratory study project on the mineral resources has also been implemented by the specialised scientific institutes at the KACST in collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals.

The KACST has also been involved in the establishment of earthquake monitoring stations.

The Saudi Arabian National Digital Seismographic Network seeks to monitor regional seismic activities.