Sharjah: Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, deputy ruler of Sharjah and president of the University of Sharjah, has witnessed the launch of the Sharjah Sat 1 satellite on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral, USA, through a live broadcast.
The deputy ruler congratulated Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, supreme council member as well as Ruler of Sharjah, and the UAE leadership for the successful launch of the “Sharjah Sat 1” satellite, emphasising that the country has taken significant steps towards space exploration through various missions.
Sheikh Sultan further appreciated the academy’s engineers who contributed to this achievement.
We start our year by reaching space, and we commend the efforts of the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Science and Technology. We are proud of the Emirati cadres of engineers and researchers, who worked on the completion of ‘Sharjah Sat 1’.
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed shared.
Dr. Hamid MK Al Naimiy, chancellor of the University of Sharjah and director general of the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Science, and Technology, expressed his gratitude towards Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed and Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed for their support of the academy as well as scientific studies in the field of space.
According to the chancellor, “Sharjah Sat 1” comes within a series of many satellites, and each satellite performs different tasks.
The estimated lifetime of the satellite is three years, which can be subject to increase according to the effect of solar radiation on the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere due to its proximity to the low Earth orbit (550 km) around which “Sharjah Sat 1” revolves.
The launch was attended by the Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, members of the Board of Trustees of the University of Sharjah, top officials from the university, members of the teaching as well as administrative staff, a group of specialists, researchers, and students of the academy.