A mini-satellite developed and built by students in the UAE has helped the country's growing space programme pass another major milestone after successfully reaching the International Space Station.
MySat-1, developed by a team of about 20 students at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, was launched from Wallops Island in Virginia in the east of the US on Saturday.
MySat-1 was one of a number of satellites in the payload of the Antares 230 rocket launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
The shining example of UAE ingenuity reached the International Space Station on Tuesday night.
We can't wait to deploy! https://t.co/oWAXwbNw7T
— Nanoracks (@Nanoracks) November 20, 2018
The small satellite that was three years in the making, weighs 1.3 kilograms and is made of cube-shaped units that are 10 centimetres in size.
“While not the first nano-satellite developed in the UAE, MYSAT-1 is among the first to be developed by local students who have been taught within the country, at one of the UAE’s own universities,” Khaled Al Hashmi, senior director of space missions at the UAE Space Agency, said in a statement.
It has been equipped with a camera to take pictures of Earth, and it is among the first to be developed by local students.
LIFTOFF! The @northropgrumman #Antares rocket has sent the #Cygnus cargo vehicle on its way to @Space_Station to deliver about 7,400 pounds of @ISS_Research and cargo! Check out the first photos of launch - https://t.co/AhNhB52pad pic.twitter.com/EcmzXsOuRH
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) November 17, 2018
The successful mission comes just weeks after the Emirati-designed, KhalifaSat, was launched from Japan.
The ambitious UAE space agency is also set to send the first Emirati astronaut to the International Space Station next April, while lofty plans for a Mars probe continue to gather pace.
The UAE Space Agency has also made an agreement with Bahrain's National Space Science Agency and the UAE’s Khalifa University, to complete the training of the Bahrain Space Team and help them complete their own dreams of galactic exploration.
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Read more:
We have lift-off: UAE-built MYSAT-1 successfully launched
First satellite built at Abu Dhabi lab heads to International Space Station
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