Adnan AlRais: Advanced Emirati MBZ-SAT on its way to orbit

Sharjah 24: On Tuesday, the region's most advanced observation satellite, the Mohamed bin Zayed SAT (MBZ-SAT), was successfully launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Adnan Al Rais, the Assistant Director General of the Space Operations and Exploration Sector at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), confirmed that the satellite is currently in the second stage of its journey, heading towards its intended orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 to 530 km. After the MBZ-SAT detaches from the rocket, its onboard systems will initiate, leading to the deployment of solar panels, which will enable communication with the satellite for a series of tests before it begins standard operations.

In his remarks to “Sharjah 24,” Al Rais noted that Emirati engineers at MBRSC fully developed the MBZ-SAT, leveraging support from local industries such as Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Strata, Rockford Xellerix, and HALCON. These partnerships played a crucial role in creating various components of the satellite, including its structure, electronics, and harness.