Video: Dubai launches its first environmental satellite

Dubai successfully launched its first nanometric environmental satellite DMSat-1 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz 2.1a space rocket on Monday.

The satellite, developed by Dubai Municipality in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), has reached its orbit 550 km above Earth, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

The first signal from DMSat-1 was received at MBRSC’s mission control centre at 4.42pm on Monday, signalling that the satellite had reached its orbit and begun its scientific mission.

Under the supervision of MBRSC, once the testing of onboard subsystems and instruments is completed and verified, the satellite will move into its operational phase, in which it will monitor, collect and analyse environmental data as well as measure air pollutants and greenhouse gases. The data provided by the satellite will be used to develop long-term plans to confront the challenges of urban pollution and climate change and the effects of it in Dubai and the UAE.

The satellite was manufactured and developed by the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) at the University of Toronto in Canada, and a team from MBRSC supervised the development and worked on the final testing of it before it was moved to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Footage of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the DMSat-1 hurtling towards space.#DMSat1#UAE4BetterEnvironment@DMunicipality pic.twitter.com/0qz8m8wPFe

— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) March 22, 2021

A second team of engineers and experts from MBRSC joined the base team to complete final functional testing and integration of the satellite with the launch vehicle. The DMSat-1 carries state-of-the-art environmental monitoring equipment.

During the second phase of the launch of the satellite, set to commence in the coming days, it will begin to monitor, collect and analyse environmental data, measure air pollutants and greenhouse gases, develop maps of the concentration and distribution of greenhouse gases as well as study and monitor seasonal changes of these gases.

Adnan AlRais, DMSAT-1 programme manager and senior director of Remote Sensing Department at MBRSC, said: “The launch of the DMSat-1 satellite will bring about a fundamental shift in the field of obtaining environmental data in the country and the region, as it contains the latest technologies in the field of monitoring air pollutants and greenhouse gases.”

The launch of the satellite is part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and UAE Energy Strategy 2050 and contributes to the implementation of the national system for managing greenhouse gas emissions within the UAE National Plan for Climate Change 2017-2050.

Weighing 15kgs, the DMSat-1 satellite contains state-of-art scientific instruments. Data will be stored on the onboard storage system and downloaded to MBRSC’s ground station. Over a period of three to five days, the satellite will monitor a single site more than once from seven different angles. It will orbit the earth 14 times a day and will pass over the MBRSC ground station four to five times a day to receive new imaging orders and enable downloading of data.