UAE: Dubai's first environment nanosatellite DMSat-1 lifts off

Dubai's first miniature environment-monitoring satellite, DMSat-1, has successfully blasted off to space.

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The nanometric satellite achieved the feat on Monday at 10:07am UAE time, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It comes after the launch was postponed twice earlier this week.

The atmosphere was euphoric among the team engineers who were stationed at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), who were watching the giant display screens closely during the satellite's lift-off onboard a Soyuz 2.1a rocket launcher.

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@gk_launch pic.twitter.com/rL4JSEQ3to

— (@roscosmos) March 22, 2021

Team members clapped and cheered after the three critical stages post lift-off were achieved successfully.

The overall project team includes 30 Emirati engineers, whose role has been to determine the needs of the Dubai Municipality and the technical characteristics of the satellite.

The MBRSC was initially all set to launch DMSat-1 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10.07am on March 20.

The launch date was later changed to March 21 due to a surge in voltage. A second launch on March 21 was also deferred sighting technical difficulties.

The moment when DMSat-1, the first nanometric environmental satellite of Dubai Municipality in collaboration with MBRSC was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.#DMSat1 #UAE4BetterEnvironment @DMunicipality pic.twitter.com/W2SrmmMDUO

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

The miniature environment monitoring satellite will detect the source of air pollutants and concentration of dust and its impact on public health in the UAE.

Weighing only 15kg, it can perform tasks done by much larger satellites.