Page 88 - SAMENA Trends - April-May 2021

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

King Saud University Signals Go-Ahead for Second Satellite

King Saud University (KSU) President Dr. Badran Al-Omar has had to start from scratch in addition to obtaining approval from
approved the designing and developing of the CubeSat 2 satellite the university, he said. “KSU CubeSat orbits around the Earth just
to be used for exploration. The announcement was made by like other satellites of the same type and size — between 500-
Dr. Abdulmohsin Al-Baddah, supervisor of the satellite project 600 km from the Earth’s surface. The CubeSat orbits at a speed
at KSU who also oversaw the CubeSat 1, one of the innovative of 27,000-28,000 km/h. We can pick up its signal in the Kingdom
projects undertaken by the University’s College of Engineering. within 7-12 minutes. It will stay in space for 24 months then will
The CubeSat 1 was designed, developed and programmed by the continue to orbit the Earth before becoming space debris,” Al-
project’s team and launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baddah said. Future satellite projects will combine education and
Kazakhstan on board Russia’s Soyuz-2 carrier rocket on March scientific research, with the private sector having an important
22. The same rocket also carried Shaheen Sat 17, which was role in supporting these projects.
developed by King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology.
The satellite will monitor the movement of commercial shipping.
“CubeSat is an educational and multidisciplinary project for KSU
students, and aims to introduce students to space technology and
sciences and train them on the engineering and technology skills
for designing and programming satellites,” said Al-Baddah. The
project will also prepare KSU students for work in the field when
they graduate. KSU’s CubeSat will take photos of the Earth, moon
and space and send the images to the ground station at the College
of Engineering. The station was set up during the first phase of
the project. Under the supervision of faculty members, students
chose the receiver, sender equipment, devices and automatic
monitoring devices, and installed all software for the mission.
Al-Baddah said that the project took six years, with more than
130 students from the engineering and computer departments
involved in designing the 1.33 kg satellite. The project took a long
time to finalize because the team had no previous expertise and

OneWeb Launches 36 More Satellites Bringing Constellation To 182

A Russian Soyuz rocket lauched 36 OneWeb ‘Five to 50’ program aims to connect industries with The AST Group, PDI, among
broadband satellites from the Vostochny broadband data users in the northern others. OneWeb also agreed its latest MoU
Cosmodrome in the Amur Oblast, in the hemisphere, with services covering the with the Government of Kazakhstan this
Russian Far East. The launch brings United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, month as it continues to demonstrate the
OneWeb’s total in-orbit constellation to Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic Seas and company’s commercial viability and the
182 satellites, and is the third launch in Canada. Service will be ready to start by the confidence customers have in its services
OneWeb’s ‘Five to 50’ program, to deliver its end of year, with global service available and offering.
connectivity solution to regions north of 50 in 2022. OneWeb also highlighted recent
degrees latitude by June 2021. OneWeb’s distribution signings across multiple

Turkey to Launch Turksat 5B Communications Satellite in Q4

Turkey will launch its Turksat 5B Karaismailoglu told a news conference has so far completed about three-fourths
communications satellite into orbit in the in the capital Ankara. Turkey is rapidly of its trip. "Our satellite will settle into an
fourth quarter of this year, the country's moving towards becoming an international orbital slot at 31 degrees East in the first
transport and infrastructure minister said player in the field of satellite and space week of May," he said. When Turksat 5A
recently. "One of the prominent features research, Karaismailoglu said. "Whoever is put into service, it will cover Europe, the
of Turksat 5B, which will be launched has a footprint in space also has power Middle East, North Africa, Midwest and
into an orbital slot at 42 degrees East, in the world," he underlined. Touting to South Africa as well as the Mediterranean,
is to increase Turkey's Ka-band data Turksat 5A, a Turkish satellite successfully Aegean and Black seas.
communication capacity by 15-fold," Adil launched in January, the minister said it
88 APRIL-MAY 2021