UAE space mission officials are in talks with SpaceX about a launch date for an Earth observation satellite built by Emirati engineers, after the company's Falcon 9 rocket was grounded by US authorities because of technical problems.
The MBZ-Sat satellite was scheduled for launch this month, but that is now uncertain as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) completes an investigation into the issues. The SpaceX rocket has suffered several problems this year.
Amer Al Sayegh, senior director of the space engineering department at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, told The National on Tuesday that discussions were being held with SpaceX to finalise a launch date. The satellite will remain in the UAE before it is shipped to a spaceport in Florida for launch.
“They have had these recent incidents with their launcher, so we are in discussion with them to finalise the date,” Mr Al Sayegh said on the sidelines of the Space Research Conference, held by the UAE Space Agency in Abu Dhabi. “They’ve had a few other [incidents] before, in July and in August, some failures in second stage, so the FAA has worked with them on improvement, and so we're still waiting for confirmation from them.”
The MBZ-Sat, named after President Sheikh Mohamed, is a key part of the UAE's efforts to establish a strong private space sector through collaborations between government-run space centres and private companies. With 90 per cent of the satellite built by UAE companies, the project is aimed at bolstering those efforts and so encouraging further investment and development in the sector.
The space centre worked with five private companies in the country to develop the satellite – aerospace manufacturing company Strata, engineering solutions company EPI, management consultancy Rockford Xellerix, Halcon, a company that manufactures precision-guided systems, and Falcon Group, an inventory management company.
MBZ-Sat is three times more powerful than KhalifaSat, an Emirati-built satellite operating Earth since 2018.
MBZ-Sat has a fully automated image scheduling and processing system that will allow it to produce 10 times more images than the space centre does.
Its downlink data transmission speed will be three times faster than its predecessor.
“All of these companies have been with us since the beginning,” Mr Al Sayegh said. “We're proud that their products are now part of the satellite that will go to space.”
Incidents with SpaceX rocket
The Falcon 9 has suffered three technical problems in three months, leading the FAA to ground the rocket. The latest incident was on September 28, when the booster missed its re-entry zone in the South Pacific.
The FAA launched an investigation into the incident and has since only allowed one SpaceX mission to launch, while others are grounded. In the summer, the agency grounded the rocket for two weeks after an incident on July 11 that involved a liquid-oxygen leak in the upper stage. This resulted in the loss of 20 Starlink satellites.
On August 28, the rocket being grounded for two days after a failed landing attempt.
Grounding a rocket causes disruption, with aerospace companies forced to delay missions until the FAA finishes its investigation and clears the rocket for launch. This creates a backlog of payloads waiting to go to space, forcing the company to adjust timetables and perhaps miss launch windows for time-sensitive missions.
Despite these setbacks, SpaceX is regarded as one of the most dependable companies in the space industry.
Rashid rover 2
Mr Al Sayegh also discussed the second Rashid lunar rover project. The four-wheeled rover is being developed after the landing vehicle carrying its predecessor crashed-landed on the surface of the Moon last year.
The space centre selected Hakuto-R Mission 1, a lander built by Japanese company ispace, to carry the first rover to the Moon.
The space centre has finalised a deal for a lander to carry the new rover and an announcement should be made “soon”, Mr Al Sayegh said.
“We've already started working on the second rover and we're good in terms of schedule,” he said. “In the current decision, we've taken into consideration which company has done it before and has already got experience. Our target is to reach the surface of the Moon and we'll do it, from our perspective, the most successful, safest way.”
There have been several lunar landing attempts by private companies in the past three years, including US companies Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines. Astrobotic's mission with its Peregrine lander ended in failure, with the spacecraft incapable of making a controlled descent to the lunar surface.
The Nova-C lander by Intuitive Machines was hailed as a success despite breaking a landing leg on touchdown, marking the first American lunar landing since the Apollo era. The spacecraft transmitted data for about a week after landing.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
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Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
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Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
