Kuwait Set To Launch Its First Satellite: KuwaitSat-1
The team from Kuwait University has built a 2u Earth observation Cubesat set for launch on 3 January 2023
A team of engineering students from Kuwait University have built a 2u Cubesat with a multi-colour camera payload that is to be used for attitude determination and control. The Cubesat, named KuwaitSat-1, is the first ever satellite to be built in Kuwait by Kuwaitis and is scheduled to be launched on Tuesday, 3 January 2023, on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle as a ride-share from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida.
A digital rendering of KuwaitSat-1. Image courtesy of kuwaitsat.space
The KuwaitSat-1 project is designed to build Kuwaiti capacity for further satellite projects in the country. According to the KuwaitSat website, the project:
Provide
Provide resources including training, education and infrastructures for young Kuwaitis to formulate a design using out of the shelf components, Integrate, launch and operate a CubeSat with a visible camera onboard.
Create
Create a team of young Kuwaitis who are capable to formulate a design using out of the shelfs components, integrate, launch and operate a similar CubeSat as Kuwait CubeSat 1 100% independently in the future.
Promote
Promote space sciences and technologies for the public and encourage the young to peruse scientific and engineering careers.
The KuwaitSat-1 project began in 2019 and has involved 18 students at Kuwait University, and six faculty advisers and outside experts.
Kuwait University students from the KuwaitSat project along with the completed KuwaitSat-1 Cubesat. Photograph courtesy of the Qatari News Agency (QNA).
Kuwait is one of the wealthiest Gulf states, but is a space and satellite Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) latecomer. Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates all have established space and satellite companies or national agencies (or both). Other than GulfSat, one of the oldest satellite communication providers in the region, Kuwait has - until very recently - shown little interest in developing its own space capabilities. KuwaitSat-1 changes this and there are persistent rumours in the region that Kuwait is mulling the establishment of a national space agency and developing its own space programme.
The KuwaitSat-1 project is led by Kuwait University in partnership with the Kuwaiti Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS), and Kuwait’s General Headquarters (GHQ) - the headquarters of the Kuwaiti armed forces.