United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates has made a significant leap in its space capabilities with the successful launch of its first Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite. The satellite, developed by Bayanat AI PLC and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (Yahsat) in partnership with ICEYE, was launched on 16 August 2024.

This SAR satellite is the first of a planned constellation designed to provide high-resolution, persistent monitoring capabilities. Unlike traditional optical satellites, SAR technology enables continuous observation regardless of weather conditions or lighting, making it a powerful tool for 24/7 Earth observation. This capability is particularly crucial for disaster risk management, as it allows for rapid and accurate monitoring of natural disasters, such as floods, storms, and earthquakes, even in challenging conditions....

A declaration adopted by a wide range of stakeholders at the second United Nations World Data, calls for an increase in financing for better data and statistics for sustainable development. The Dubai Declaration aims to establish a funding mechanism under the mandate of the United Nations Statistics Commission to raise resources to address the data needs for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda and support national statistical systems. The UN World Data Forum 2018 was hosted by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority of the United Arab Emirates and took place from 22 to 24 October 2018.

During the three-day forum, 2,000 data experts from more than 100 countries discussed the challenges and opportunities that data needs to address to contribute to a sustainable future. Among the highlights of the Forum were the launch of a guide to towards integration of data from multiple sources for better monitoring and policy-making, discussions on building trust in data...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched a new satellite on 29 October which aims to assist with a range of tasks including aiding relief efforts after disasters.

KhalifaSat, a remote sensing Earth observation satellite, was put into orbit via a H-2A rocket which lifted off from the the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan.

The satellite will spend five years in a Low Earth Orbit where it will capture and deliver high-resolution images of Earth to the ground station at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in Dubai, UAE.

These highly-detailed images aim to help governments and private companies across the globe with a range of tasks including disaster relief efforts, climate change, environmental protection and urban planning. KhalifaSat is also is...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a member of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters". The country will be represented in the context of the International Charter by the United Arab Emirates Space Agency, the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).

The International Charter aims at providing a unified system of space data acquisition and delivery to those affected by natural or man-made disaster. Authorized user can access and request assistance for emergencies in their own country, or in another country they cooperate with for disaster relief. The United Arab Emirates has stated its readiness to contribute by sharing images and data collected by the DubaiSat-2 satellite, which will be joined by KhalifaSat in early 2018.

The UAE Space Agency was established in 2014 to develop the national space sector. For the Charter’s Board of Directors...

Deimos Space UK and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in the UAE have joined in a year-long project to get more valuable data from their satellites DubaiSat and Deimos.

As an article on Arabian Aerospace online news service reported, the “Smart Application for Feature extraction and 3D modelling using high resolution satellite Imagery” (SAFIY) project will use Earth observation (EO) data to monitor, and detect changes in vegetation, water, road networks and buildings in support of Dubai's “smart government” initiative.

Another objective expected from the cooperation is the development and melioration of mapping applications. Typical applications include products and services for agriculture, forestry, disaster monitoring, land use, surveillance and intelligence.

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The Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Ms Simonetta Di Pippo, and UN-SPIDER Coordinator Luc St-Pierre, visited the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates on 12 and 13 January 2015 to increase cooperation on technical capacity building on the use of space technologies for disaster risk reduction. The use of space technologies for disaster risk reduction is imperative for a country such as the Emirates.

The visit helped explore the options available for increasing collaboration on technical capacity building and advisory services. These include UNOOSA/UN-SPIDER providing support to the geographic information system (GIS) Center for Security of the Ministry of Interior of United Arab Emirates and assisting the GIS Centre to strengthen its ties with international mechanisms such as the International Charter Space and Major Disasters.

Ms. Di Pippo discussed with Major General Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, General Director of E-...

The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) of the United Arab Emirates announced that their DubaiSat-2 Earth Observation satellite is in orbit and fully operational.

The last phase of calibration started on 21 November of last year. The satellite verified and validated its electronic systems. The next phase included calibration of sensors and ensuring high quality of data seta.

“DubaiSat-2 now being fully operational signals the start of our mission to provide useful and timely data to our customers from the government and private sectors, domestically and internationally and to benefit the nation," concluded Salem Al Marri, Assistant Director General of Scientific and Technical Affairs, EIAST.

The satellite is able to take multiple high-resolution images of the same area. The images will be used for building up resilience, as well as for supporting urban planning and infrastructure processes.

The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) highlighted its contributions to space technology and the regional and global applications of its services at the Global Space & Satellite Forum (GSSF) held from May 9 to 11 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).
Senior experts from EIAST shared the ground-breaking accomplishments of the organisation and the remarkable achievements on-ground through their presentations and round-table discussions at the region's premier forum for the space and satellite industry.

His Excellency Mr Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of EIAST, said, "After our success in launching DubaiSat-1 into space to be UAE's first earth observation satellite, our challenge was to make the benefit of DubaiSat-1 a common ground for the entire community of the UAE. We looked at ways to make the outcome of our satellite not only accessible to as many users as possible but also a common ground for decision...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will launch its first earth-observation satellite this month (July) with the aim of aiding numerous development goals. EIAST plans to use the satellite to boost research in four areas: fog forecasting, sandstorm prediction, monitoring water in the Gulf and improving the clarity of received satellite pictures. It also hopes that DubaiSat-1 will help detect and monitor pollution such as oil spills (Lifted from SciDev Net).

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The 5th International Conference on Earth Observation for Global Changes (EOGC 2015) and the 7th International Conference on Geo-information Technologies for Natural Disaster Management (GiT4NDM 2015) are designed to advance the research and development as well as encouraging innovative applications of Geomatics technologies in global change studies, and to specifically address the international aspects of the coupled social, land and climate systems in global change studies using advanced geospatial tools, spatiotemporal models, and earth observation systems. The conference offers an interdisciplinary forum in the fields of remote sensing, surveying and mapping, geodesy and geosciences, geography, marine science, forestry, renewable energy, environment, transportation, natural hazards, disaster management, and climate change science.

The joint EOGC-GiT4NDM 2015 Conference will be held in United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates, 8-10 December...

The 5th International Conference on Earth Observation for Global Changes (EOGC 2015) and the 7th International Conference on Geo-information Technologies for Natural Disaster Management (GiT4NDM 2015) will provide a forum to present ongoing research and ideas related to earth observations and global change, natural hazards and disaster management studies with respect to geospatial information technology, remote sensing, and global navigation satellite systems.

The conference will include pre-conference workshops, keynotes, panel discussions and technical sessions. 

Officially endorsed by the UAE Space Agency and hosted by the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), the 5th Global Space and Satellite Forum (GSSF 2015) will bring together key regional and international stakeholders and decision makers from the space and satellite industry.

GSSF 2015 will examine the complete journey that emerging and developed space regions need to take from research through to development and modern applications.

The event will consist of parallel strategy sessions and two main forum days. The international forum days will provide a succession of 30 - 40 minute presentations, panel discussions, live interviews and roundtable discussions from approximately 30 - 50 industry leading speakers.

The overriding theme of discussions in 2015 is how space is proving to be a key economic driver. It will be a platform to deliberate on how commercial space and satellite technology are creating new economic, social and...