KhalifaSat, UAE’s first Emirati-built satellite, launches from Japan

KhalifaSat is set to spend five years in ‘Low Earth Orbit’ before descending to Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center. (Screengrab)

• KhalifaSat is set to spend five years in ‘Low Earth Orbit’ before descending to Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center
• UAE had previously sent two satellites into orbit, the DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, but KhalifaSat is the first to be fully locally built

DUBAI: UAE’s first fully Emirati-built satellite has launched successfully from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center early Monday morning.

UAE had previously sent two satellites into orbit, the DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, but KhalifaSat is the first to be fully locally built.

With construction beginning in 2013, the satellite took five years to be completed following an announcement by UAE’s Vice President and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

KhalifaSat is set to spend five years in ‘Low Earth Orbit’ before descending to Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center.