Dubai: KhalifaSat, the satellite built by Emirati engineers, is marking the UAE’s 47th National Day by capturing a portrait of Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan from space.
The image of the UAE's founding father was captured while KhalifaSat was passing over the United Arab Emirates from its Low-Earth Orbit at about 613km.
The KhalifaSat was launched at the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan on October 29. It entered into a low earth orbit some 85 minutes after its launch.
The first signal was successfully received at the ground station at the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), which developed the satellite.
The satellite, present the top of its class and bears the name of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is able to capture high-resolution images with a spatial resolution of 70cm — meaning each pixel represents 70cm of the ground being captured.
