Mission accomplished on Dubai’s second imaging satellite

More than 1,000 images, from Mecca to Vegas, have been received from DubaiSat-2 since its launch a few weeks ago, and the satellite is now just about ready to start providing the government with images.

A satellite image of Emirates Palace taken from DubaiSat-2. Courtesy EIAST

DUBAI // The first images were beamed back less than a day after the launch of Dubai’s newest satellite.

The buzzer for the first images sounded shortly before noon on November 22, in the courtyard of DubaiSat-2’s mission control in Al Khawaneej.

A huge satellite dish swivelled to track the progress of the satellite as it passed overhead at a speed of 8km a second.

“When we got the images there was a lot of clapping and cheering around the office,” said Omran Sharaf, director of space image processing and analysis at the Emirates Institute of Advanced Science and Technology.

“We were all celebrating that day.”

The first images, of Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, marked the end of the five-year development of DubaiSat-2, the second satellite developed by Eiast after DubaiSat-1 was launched in 2009.

In the weeks since the launch, the 25-man team in Dubai have received more than 1,000 images, from places as far afield as Mecca and Las Vegas.

But the team is still working on developing an automatic calibration of the images, to improve resolution and clarity.

Once that is ready in about a month, Eiast will start receiving contracts from government departments across the country.

“Most sections of the government utilise satellite images, so we can provide those where they need it,” said Salem Al Marri, assistant director general for scientific and technical affairs.

“A lot will depend on the type of contract. Maybe Dubai Municipality or Abu Dhabi will request just a map of the city with a one-metre resolution. We can do that with no problem.

“But we also have a research team who can study environmental factors like the red tide [an algal plume in the sea], or monitor changes over time on the Palm Jumeirah or Palm Deira.”

The camera on board the satellite has a one-metre resolution, meaning each pixel that makes up an image will represent one metre of land. It is enough detail to make out a car on the street.

“You won’t be able to tell if it’s a Prius or a Corolla but you will be able to say if it’s a red car or a blue car,” Mr Al Marri said.

The area it can capture, or “swath”, is 12km. DubaiSat-1 had a resolution of 2.5 metres and a swath of 20km. Its wider range means there is still a role for DubaiSat-1.

“We can use DubaiSat-1 to get a general picture of the area, and if we want more detail we just use DubaiSat-2,” said Mr Al Marri.

DubaiSat-1 has a service lifespan of five years. Although it is getting close to that now, having been in orbit for four and a half years, it is still functioning.

“We’re going to try to keep it operational as long as we can but we have to designate an end of life,” said Mr Al Marri.

“You will still get some operational capabilities but it’s like a very slow, old laptop. The usability becomes less and less.”

The first two satellites have been built in Seoul, under a knowledge-sharing arrangement with the South Korean company Satrec.

Twenty Emirati engineers had roles in developing the two satellites, with a view to developing expertise and ensuring the next satellites are built on UAE soil.

A development and testing centre is being built next to Eiast’s mission control and will be ready by the end of next year.

Construction of DubaiSat-3, scheduled for launch at the start of 2017, started in April and it will move to the UAE centre by the start of 2015 for completion.

“It’s always been the goal for us to develop, build and test these satellites in the UAE,” said Mr Al Marri. “Now that goal is in sight.”

The DubaiSat-1 programme cost US$50 million (Dh183.6m) for development and launch. The figure for DubaiSat-2 has not been announced, but it is believed to have been about the same, or less.

DubaiSat-2 was launched from Yasny Cosmodrome, in northern Russia, by Moscow’s International Space Company Kosmotras.

It was among several satellites from other countries, deployed by the same rocket.