DubaiSat-2 to be launched by 2012

The UAE’s second remote sensing satellite, DubaiSat-2, will be launched on board a Dnepr Rocket through the Moscow-based International Space Company Kosmotras (ISCK) from Yasny Cosmodrome in Northern Russia by the fourth quarter of 2012 as part of a clustered launch, in which DubaiSat-2 will be the primary satellite on board, a statement said.

The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science & Technology (EIAST) signed a contract with the ISCK from Russia for the launch of DubaiSat-2.

DubaiSat-2, which will be used for remote sensing, weighs around 300 kilograms and will be placed into a 600 kilometre circular sun synchronous orbit.

DubaiSat-2 is the second remote sensing satellite owned by the UAE, which underscores the country's determination to possess advanced space technologies to fulfil the needs of scientific and technological research, as well as to provide up-to-date spatial and earth monitoring data that aids the holistic growth drive adopted by the nation, the statement said.

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