The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) is a Dubai government organization working on the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) space program. On October 27, MBRSC announcd it selected SpaceX to launch MBZ-SAT, an Earth-imaging satellite designed to take high-resolution aerial images of the planet’s surface. The announcement comes while Dubai hosts the 72nd International Astronautical Congress.
MBZ-SAT will be launched atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket aboard a SmallSat Rideshare Program mission, which provides a cost-effective flight by sharing rocket fairing with dozens of payloads owned by different companies and organizations.
“We’re honored to support this mission, and we look forward to the successful launch of MBZ-SAT and many future projects,” SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ochinero stated in a press release.
“We are continually seeking to extend and diversify our ecosystem of partners, particularly in the strategically important area of launch partners. We are delighted to partner with SpaceX to deliver the MBZ-SAT into space as they offer the key attributes of readiness, reliability and technological expertise for this project,” said Director General of MBRSC Yousuf Hamad AlShaibani. “The launch of MBZ-SAT is only the first step to unlock future opportunities with SpaceX, and we look forward to utilising further technology developments and space resources with them,” they stated.
The MBZ-SAT will be manufactured by Emirate engineers to be deployed sometime by the end of 2023 or early 2024. According to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, the MBZ-SAT weighs around 700 kilograms (kg), it will be capable of producing more than ten times the amount of images that they currently generate and beam data to their headquarters three times faster than the current capability.
MBRSC has selected SpaceX as a launch provider to deliver MBZ-SAT, into space. The satellite will be launched onboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in 2023.#MBZSAT pic.twitter.com/9tuUNwPUn4
— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) October 27, 2021
Over 110 countries delegations are present currently in the UAE crafting the future of space exploration. Welcome to the first International Astronautical Congress held in the Arab world.#IAC2021 pic.twitter.com/350NlEahAZ
— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) October 27, 2021
Author's Edit: corrected satellite weight/size.
Featured Image Source: SpaceX
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
