Dubai, July 25: The launch of the UAE’s first satellite has been delayed by four days because of safety concerns, officials confirmed. DubaiSat-1 was scheduled to be launched today onboard a Dnepr rocket, but the launch has been rescheduled to 10.46pm on Wednesday.
Delays to the launching of satellites are not unusual, said Ahmed Al Mansoori, Director-General of the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST).
“It is extremely important that the launching company ensures maximum readiness of all equipment related to the launch pad and satellites,” Al Mansoori said in a statement.
“Delays in launching procedures are not unusual and happen frequently, as it is linked to the final tests undertaken by the team of scientists and experts.”
Al Mansoori said the new launch date is July 29 but delays could occur again because of technical or meteorological reasons. DubaiSat-1 will share the Dnepr rocket with five other satellites from around the world.
The missile is housed in an underground silo at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a former Soviet military base in Kazakhstan. Vladimir Kaimov, Deputy Director-General of launching company ISC Kosmotras, denied that technical reasons had caused the delay.
“There were no technical problems whatsoever,” he told Khaleej Times over the phone. “It was postponed due to organisational reasons,” he added, although he declined to elaborate further. “Before we moved the launch, we got the permission from all of the satellite owners.”
At the beginning of the month, teams of engineers began the laborious process of installing the small satellites into the nose cone of the Dnepr rocket.
Earlier this week, project manager Salem Al Marri told Khaleej Times over the phone from Kazakhstan that preparations for DubaiSat-1 were on track.
“We have everything in place now,” he said on Tuesday. “We are checking and re-checking to ensure that there are no problems. If there is a problem with the systems onboard, then we cannot change it once it is in space.”
DubaiSat-1 is a weather satellite, weighing around 200kg and orbiting the earth at an altitude of 500-700km. It will beam back images to the EIAST listening station in Al Khawaneej, Dubai.
Another satellite due to be launched on July 29 is the UK-DMC2 — operated by Surry Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). Spokeswoman for the company, Audrey Nice, said that there has always been a degree of flexibility in the launch date. “There’s no official technical reason for the delay,” she said. “Sometimes the Russians just prefer not to launch at the weekend.”
–Agencies–