The UAE’s first government satellite, DubaiSat-1, is in orbit after a successful launch from Kazakhstan last night.
“It was an absolutely seamless launch,” Audrey Nice, spokesperson for Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), who was involved in the launch, told the National.
“The rocket lifted off at 00.46 [local time]. Everything went according to plan. All the satellites separated successfully and they are all currently in orbit.
According to the report, the satellites’ satellites’ receiver stations will now make contact with them and images can be back to Dubai from space.
DubaiSat-1, which has cost Dhs184m ($50m) to develop and is about a metre long, will be used to take detailed photographs of the region for use in urban planning and disaster relief.
Experts told the paper that because of DubaiSat-1’s low altitude orbit people should be able to see it without a telescope. It will look like a moving star, they said.
