UAE and UN space agency announce two winning payloads – News

PHI-1 will provide a 5U slot in a 12U modular setup for satellites to Bahrain and Nepal

The UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have announced the winners of their Joint Opportunity Payload Hosting Initiative (PHI), a space program for all cooperation plan below.

Two payloads from the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency (NSSA) and Antarikchya Pratisthan University of Nepal have been selected for the PHI-1 mission.

Through the PHI programme, UNOOSA and MBRSC offered the possibility to host payloads on a satellite platform developed at the Bin Rashid Space Centre. The programme supports capacity-building and promotion of space science and technology in developing countries and is an important opportunity for innovation and demonstration of new technologies.

Under the agreement signed last year at the 72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Dubai, UNOOSA and MBRSC will work together to accelerate and promote innovation in space technology by providing support and knowledge to the world.

Salem Humaid AlMarri, Director General of MBRSC, said: “We have made tremendous progress in the year since the payload hosting program was first announced. Today, we congratulate the entities selected for the PHI-1 mission.”

The “Aman” payload conceptualized by the Bahrain team will test an optimized advanced encryption standard designed to protect communications between satellites and ground stations.

The “Danfe Space Mission” in Nepal will study the operation of the PX4 Autopilot, a middleware for space drones, with a focus on the behavior and operation of the system. Both winning payloads will provide the team with hands-on experience, knowledge and skills and will contribute to capacity building in space technology.

As part of UNOOSA’s “Everyone in Space” initiative, PHI-1 will advance the ultimate goal of ensuring that Earth is not left behind in the path to space exploration and sustainable development.

Niklas Hedman, Acting Director of UNOOSA, commented: “The Space for All initiative is groundbreaking for capacity building in space science and technology in the 21st century. We thank our partners for their support and for making a real difference to teams and institutions around the world. I’m already looking forward to seeing the results of the PHI program boosting the aerospace industry in Bahrain and Nepal.”

PHI serves as an initiative to expand space activities and apply it to advance human resource development in line with the mission and goals of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mohamed Al-Aseeri, Chief Executive Officer of the National Space Science Agency (NSSA), said: “We are delighted and honoured to see that UNOOSA and MBRSC have selected the ‘Aman’ project in the first round of the PHI initiative. Aman is believed to be the first by NSSA’s fully designed, integrated and tested Bahrain payload. This opportunity is unprecedented as we seek to contribute meaningfully to global efforts to sustainably, peacefully use outer space and build national capabilities in the space domain.”

Abhas Maskey, founder of Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal, said: “If Nepal is to develop into a space nation, the country must seize every opportunity to develop self-reliance, conduct R&D and build space capabilities. I strongly believe that Nepal’s participation in PHI-1 will be a move towards A small step forward for potential future cooperation in Vision 2050, which is to send our country’s first astronaut into space by 2050. Space is the new limit, even for Nepal.”