DhabiSat arrives at International Space Station

Student-made satellite to gather space research data and can capture high-resolution images from an altitude of 450 kilometres

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A satellite built by Khalifa University students in Abu Dhabi arrived at the International Space Station on Monday.

DhabiSat, built by 27 graduate students at Yahsat Space Lab, was launched into space from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, US, on Saturday.

It was taken to the ISS aboard the Cygnus NG-15 resupply spacecraft, which launched on an Antares rocket.

The satellite will be deployed from the Cygnus NG-15, following its departure from the ISS in approximately three months.

The CubeSat – a type of miniaturised satellite – will be used to gather data for space research and can capture high-resolution images from an altitude of 450 kilometres.

It marks another milestone in the UAE's space journey.

Two weeks ago, the Emirates made history when its Hope probe successfully entered the orbit of Mars to begin a two-year data-collecting mission.

DhabiSat is the second CubeSat designed and developed by Khalifa University students, but is the fourth to be launched into the skies by the UAE.

The first was Nayif-1 in 2017, followed by MySat-1, which was launched by Yahsat Space Lab three years ago.

Last September, MeznSat lifted-off on board a Russian Soyuz 2.1b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.