(Dubai) – The sky is the limit for UAE aeronautical engineers, who have begun work on what will be the first Arab-made satellite, expected to be in the earth’s orbit by 2017. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the initial phase in building the satellite, to be called the Khalifa Sat in honour of the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST).
The satellite, the third that will be launched by Dubai and EIAST, will be constructed entirely by 45 Emirati engineers, after the first, in 2009, was a largely South Korean production with input from Emirati scientists, and the second, launched just last month, had double the number of UAE scientists working but still had input from South Korea.
