Emirates to launch satellite navigation system next year
The Emirates will launch a satellite navigation system next year thanks to the advance in new technologies the country has made in recent times, a senior official told the Gulf nation's news agency, WAM. "The first satellite of the system will be launched in 2021 and the second, a technologically enhanced one, the following year," Khaled al Hashmi, director of the National Space Science and Technology Centre at the Emirates University, told WAM.
The Emirates' navigation satellite will be the first project of its kind to be developed in the country. "This initiative, funded by the Emirates Space Agency, aims to demonstrate the technology and capacity building of the nation and is not intended to add to the other navigation systems. We are trying to select a certain technology, design and develop the satellite and cargo in the country and have the property rights. If we are successful, we are likely to expand the project," he told the Hashmi.
The head of the National Center for Space Science and Technology considers it very positive that other countries are developing satellite navigation systems. "If one of them fails, there must be others available," he said. There are currently four global satellite navigation systems: the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo and China's BeiDou. India and Japan have developed two regional systems. This technology project is part of the Emirates Space Agency's plans to strengthen the development of new technology in this Gulf country, according to the WAM news agency. "This is a research project, but we also want to develop our own technology to apply it," he told the Hashmi.
This initiative has taken two years to see the light of day. "After the launch of the Hope probe to Mars, new opportunities have opened up for collaboration between the Emirates and the world's space agencies and companies," a senior official told the WAM agency. Another space-related project underway is the development of the Arab Satellite, an initiative announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of Dubai. "We have the initial configuration of the device. We will soon move on to the second phase. We have already set up the local team and are selecting partners from other Arab countries to participate in the project," he said.
The Emirates has also initiated the creation of the first Arab Space Coordination group in 2019 together with 10 Arab nations to develop an advanced satellite funded by the Emirates Space Agency to monitor the earth, environment and climate. The new satellite will be designed and manufactured by Arab engineers from countries that have signed the charter to launch the first such group in the Arab world. The eleven countries are the Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco and Egypt. The member countries of the group voted for the Emirates to lead the new organization.
