EIAST Launches First Satellite Project

Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) has launched the new strategic project DubaiSat-3, the first satellite that will be completed in the United Arab Emirates. A core team of 45 UAE experts and engineers will lead the development of DubaiSat-3, the third satellite program to be undertaken by EIAST in collaboration with its partner Satrec Initiative (SI), a solution provider for Earth observation missions.

DubaiSat-3 will initially be developed in South Korea and later transferred to EIAST's satellite manufacturing facilities in the UAE midway through the project. EIAST further revealed that it will start developing its own cleanroom and satellite manufacturing facilities at the EIAST headquarters in Dubai this year as part of preparations for the transfer of the DubaiSat-3 development to Dubai.

EIAST's Emirati engineers will be taking the lead in the development of the project from the start and SI will be assuming a consultative role. These latest developments will firm up the transfer of satellite development in the UAE.

Eng. Salem Al Marri, Assistant Director General for Scientific and Technical Affairs, EIAST, says, "The satellite bus of DubaiSat-3 will be similar to that of DubaiSat-2, but there will be significant changes in its payload and the size of the camera. It will also feature a new, highly sophisticated camera system, which works as an accurate magnifier achieving a sub-meter resolution of 70 cm. from a distance of 600 km. above the surface of the Earth. There will also be improvements in the download speed and computing capabilities."

EIAST was established by the Dubai Government in 2006 with the goal to promote a culture of advanced scientific research and technology innovation in Dubai and the UAE, and to enhance UAE nationals' capacity in technological innovation and attaining leading scientific levels. It is mainly involved in outer space research and development; manufacture of satellites and development of systems; space imaging; and ground station services and support to other satellites.

Surrey Satellite US Opens Satellite Mission Facility in Colorado

Surrey Satellite Technology US (SST-US) has moved into a purpose-built headquarters and satellite manufacturing facility in Englewood, Colorado. The new headquarters comprises cleanroom space for satellite and subsystem manufacture, customer payload integration, and electronics assembly activities.

The SST-US facility also includes an electronics laboratory, mission operations centre, and office space to accommodate the growing team and its design, analysis, test, and management systems. Once in orbit, satellites built and launched by SST-US will be commissioned and operated from the company’s mission operations centre.

“We established SST-US in Colorado more than five years ago, attracted by Colorado’s growing prominence as a hub for the nation’s space industry and the resident critical mass of satellite companies, related technology firms, and experienced personnel,” said Chief Executive

Dr. John Paffett, SST-US.

“We are expecting significant growth and to triple our professional staff in the Denver area by the end of this year,” he said.

“Interest in ‘small sat’ technology is intensifying in the US as commercial, government, and military organizations face the prospect of continuing critical space missions with frozen or reduced budgets.

“Smaller satellites that can be built right here in Colorado at a fraction of the cost of larger, heavier space craft are the solution for many of these missions.”

SST-US is a wholly owned subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited in the UK.

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