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

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Photo: Roscosmos/Twitter
Photo: Roscosmos/Twitter

Dubai - The nano satellite took off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday.

By Nandini Sircar

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Published: Mon 22 Mar 2021, 10:48 AM

Last updated: Mon 22 Mar 2021, 12:04 PM

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

ALSO READ: Dubai’s first environmental nano-satellite vows to be climate change warrior


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.


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 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.


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