Dubai: Emirati engineers from the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) are carrying out the final checks in Japan, in the run-up to the launch of KhalifaSat into space on October 29.
In less than 12 days, the UAE’s first Emirati-made satellite will be launched into orbit on board the MHI’s H-IIA rocket from the JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Centre, an island south of Japan.
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, KhalifaSat engineers working with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries visited the launch site. They also posted a sneak peek of the launch pad and Vehicle Assembly Building, where the rocket carrying KhalifaSat will be stored until the launch.
KhalifaSat is a highly advanced earth observation satellite that will orbit the earth from pole to pole, at a distance of 613 kilometres.
The team, led by Amer Al Sayegh, KhalifaSat’s project manager, also conducted vital evaluations and tests for the final launch preparations on Sunday, to ensure a successful mission.
Meanwhile in Dubai, MBRSC honoured three start-up companies that won the Gitex Future Stars’ ‘Innovation Challenge’ on Wednesday, as part of the ongoing Gitex Technology Week 2018.
Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, MBRSC’s Director-General, handed over a valuable financial prize to Equatorial Space Industries that won first place, Cemvita Factory Inc that ranked second, and BRAQ Aerospace LLC that came in third.
This competition included the development of space and satellite systems, development of systems analysis and application development, renewable energy technology, as well as the development of advanced systems to find the best innovative solutions to support the Mars 2117 Strategy.
Al Shaibani congratulated the winners of the competition and encouraged entrepreneurs to invest in the space sector, and increase their contribution to the sector’s development.
Adnan Al Rais, Mars 2117 Programme Manager at MBRSC said, “Through the ‘Innovation Challenge’ and other pioneering initiatives, MBRSC offers significant privileges to companies that are still taking their first steps to introduce themselves and accelerate their growth, especially as we are talking about a highly competitive market based primarily on innovation and anticipating the future.”
