DubaiSat-3 / KhalifaSat

The third satellite to be conceptualised by Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, DubaiSat-3 was renamed KhalifaSat by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in honour of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

KhalifaSat was 100% developed by Emirati engineers. Phase one of the development commenced under the leadership of UAE nationals based in South Korea, and once the necessary facilities have been constructed in the UAE, all further development, manufacture and testing would be moved to the Dubai headquarters.

KhalifaSat, expected to enter orbit in 2018, is the U.A.E.’s most technologically advanced imaging satellite, would be 100 percent developed by Emirati engineers as part of the MBRSC’s strategic initiative to inspire innovation and technological advancement, and to increase sustainable development in the U.A.E.

The four year program to develop KhalifaSat began in 2013. When complete, it would provide satellite imaging capabilities at an industry competitive Ground Sampling Distance of 0.7m panchromatic and 4m in multispectral bands to governmental and commercial entities and corporations worldwide.

KhalifaSat is one of the smallest satellites in the world capable of providing sub-meter images. KhalifaSat is MBRSC’s third and most technologically advanced satellite. KhalifaSat is named after the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 03 February 2018 unveiled the country's first locally-manufactured satellite. "Khalifa Sat" is the first satellite to be fully manufactured by Emirati engineers. It is set to be put into orbit later in the year. "Today, the first Arab satellite was fully manufactured by an Emirati engineering team without any external foreign support," UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said during a visit to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC). "Khalifa Sat officially gets the UAE into the era of full-scale space industrialization," he said. In 2009, MBRSC launched the DubaiSat-1 into space as the Gulf state's first satellite for remote sensing. In 2013, the same center launched a second satellite, DubaiSat-2.

KhalifaSat, when launched in 2018, would become the most technologically advanced satellite owned by the UAE. The satellite would provide advanced satellite imaging services for both government and commercial use, and would be 100% developed by Emirati scientists and engineers.

The satellite would be transported to a partner country for the launch, and an announcement regarding this would follow shortly. The satellite would capture detailed imagery capable of competing with the highest industry standards as it orbits the Earth. With a GSD of 0.7m Panchromatic, and multispectral bands of 4m, the images KhalifaSat beams back to Earth would be among the most detailed commercially available.

The development of KhalifaSat forms a part of MBRSC’s long-term strategy in the UAE, which is aimed towards encouraging innovation, stimulating technological progress, promoting sustainable development and creating a generation of Emirati scientists and engineers who would contribute to the achievement of a scientific renaissance and take the initiative to launch ambitious space projects over the next decade.

The most technologically advanced satellite and the first satellite fully manufactured by Emirati engineers in the clean rooms at MBRSC in the UAE. KhalifaSat would become the third UAE satellite to enter orbit when launched in 2018, and the project is currently ongoing at the MBRSC Headquarters in Dubai in advance of the launch. The facility is in a state of vacuum, meaning that not even a single particle of dust is present within the lab.

Once in orbit, KhalifaSat would provide high-quality detailed imagery for use in a variety of ways, allowing the UAE to provide competitive services all over the world.

Khalifasat, which would be the first spacecraft built with UAE personnel in charge from start to finish, would ride into a polar low Earth orbit as a secondary payload on the H-2A slated to launch in Q4 of 2018. The main passenger would be Japan’s GOSAT-2 satellite studying greenhouse gas levels.

The most sophisticated satellite built by the UAE was successfully launched from an island off the southern tip of Japan 29 October 2018, in a new milestone for the country’s space programme. KhalifaSat, the first satellite designed, tested and manufactured entirely by Emirati engineers, took off shortly after 8am UAE time. The launch was hailed by the UAE's leaders as an "unprecedented Emirati achievement".