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The UAE Space Agency has announced a new AED3 billion ($816 million) investment and development fund for the space sector, which will support new projects in cutting-edge space sector engineering, science and research.
The first project NSF will launch into space will be a fleet of advanced remote sensing satellites that use radar technology to provide unparalleled imaging capabilities.
Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, said: “Long-term plans and plans for the development of the UAE’s space sector are in place to create economic opportunities, new jobs and help finance the UAE’s development in technology, space Global partnerships and new leaders in science and engineering. We are planning a bright future for our young people with new challenges and opportunities – and the aim of this fund is to create opportunities to build international collaborations for UAE businesses. “
The fund will actively encourage partnerships between international and local businesses, providing them with incentives as part of the UAE Space Agency’s Space Economic Zone programme.
Salem Al Qubaisi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, said: “The National Space Fund will encourage global partnerships to establish themselves in the UAE, providing new and important technology platforms and developments to meet important innovations and technologies for the UAE space programme and other global customers to Meet the needs and possibilities of today’s world.”
The fund’s first investment will be used to develop and launch a constellation of advanced imaging satellites for the UAE using SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology. The constellation will be named Sirb in Arabic for a group of birds and will address the urgent need for better environmental and land-use monitoring, data collection and analysis to address today’s global challenges.
The planned satellites will be able to create highly detailed and complex radar “images” of land use, ice cover, surface changes and features, with a wide range of scientific, civil and commercial applications.
Sarah Al Amiri added: “SAR technology goes beyond traditional imaging satellites, using X-band radar technology to provide more robust imaging, allowing us to continue day and night observations in fog and clouds, and combine observations to create a big data picture, which is not at all It can be done with conventional imaging. These small satellites are more flexible, faster to develop, and more capable — indicators of the type of next-generation systems that technology is making possible.”
Combining the power of imaging satellites with cloud and ground penetration capabilities, SAR technology will open up applications ranging from urban planning to archaeology, weather forecasting to air quality analysis and climate change mapping. Crucially, SAR radar-based technologies can provide high-resolution images for remote sensing applications regardless of sunlight exposure and weather conditions.
The six-year satellite development program will see the first satellite launch in three years, a much faster timeframe than using traditional Earth observation satellite design principles. Sirb satellites will be built through a series of partnerships between the UAE public and private sectors and international players as part of a constellation development, launch, operation and commercialisation programme.
In addition to fulfilling humanity’s critical need for broader data, the Sirb constellation offers a private sector opportunity to bridge the gap between the UAE’s Mars mission and the upcoming Venus and major asteroid belt Beyond Mars missions due to launch in 2028. – arab trade news agency
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