Saudi Arabia Set To Launch Six Mini Satellites

2005-05-09

www.spa.gov.sa/newsprint.php? extend.260910

["another satellite is designed to... monitor movement of vehicles in remote areas."]

Riyadh, May 9, SPA [Saudi Press Agency] -- Saudi Arabia will launch either by the end of this year or early next year six mini satellites for a range of applications, including the location of water and mineral sources, environmental pollution control, urban planning, agricultural production and weather observation.

They are part of a group of 24 mini satellites manufactured and designed in the Kingdom by a team of Saudi scientists and engineers as part of a program to harness space technology for commercial purposes, according to Prince Turki bin Saud, vice president of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Research Institutes.

He was speaking at an international seminar on remote sensing and its applications opened on Saturday night by Riyadh Deputy Governor Prince Sattam on behalf of Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, the second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.

Prince Sultan underlined the importance of the seminar as a means of sharing knowledge and hoped that the Kingdom will benefit from this exchange of ideas, according to a report published today by Arab News.

Prince Sattam bin Abdul-Aziz, accompanied by Dr. Saleh Al-Athel, president of KASCT, opened a scientific exhibition held on the sidelines of the conference. The participants include companies specialized in space imaging, GIS and various remote-sensing applications.

As many as 500 experts from 29 countries are attending the five-day event, which has been sponsored by KACST in collaboration with International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and Global Sensing Group (GSG).

Addressing the gathering, Prince Turki said KACST's plan is eventually to launch a total of 24 low-orbit satellites. Two satellites - Saudisat-A and Saudisat-B - were launched by a Russian rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, while a third communications satellite was placed in orbit with the help of a Russian rocket.

Earlier this year, another satellite to track lunar sightings was positioned in a low orbit to relay information on the new moon. "The new satellite is equipped with a camera to take photos of the moon," Prince Turki said, adding that another satellite is designed to collect vital data on weather and oil reserves as well as to monitor movement of vehicles in remote areas.

In a separate presentation, Prince Turki, in collaboration with KACST scientists Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Sugair, Dr. Sami Al-Humaidy and Dr. Muhammed Al-Majid, explained that these low-orbit mini satellites would relay data which could be used by government agencies for urban planning and other economic development programs.

Saudi Arabia is the second Arab country after Egypt to launch satellites.

--SPA

1015 Local Time 0715 GMT

Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis