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A glimpse from space to help MBR City

One of Dubai’s satellites has beamed back the first glimpse of the area to be developed as part of the recently-announced multi-billion dirham project, Mohammed Bin Rashid City, while the country’s latest satellite is readying for launch.

The joint UAE and South Korea earth observation satellite DubaiSat-1, one of three UAE satellites currently in orbit, will provide monthly images of the area, in order to chart the project’s progress.

This was not the first such project the satellite, launched by the government body, the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) in July 2009, had been asked to help out with, with other major construction projects in Dubai also being mapped similarly.

Mohammed Bin Rashid City, announced last month, will be located between Emirates Road, Al Khail Road and Shaikh Zayed Road.

Once the city is constructed, it will be the home of the largest mall in the world, surrounded by a park larger than London’s Hyde Park, the biggest leisure centre in the region, 100 hotels, and will have the largest area of art galleries in the region.

The EIAST said the images being sent back would be “a valuable resource for infrastructure planning and development across the country”. These images would provide valuable spatial information to aid decision-making on “urban and rural planning, transport and utilities development, mapping and environmental conservation initiatives”.

The satellite images would enable more efficient monitoring of environmental changes and natural hazards in addition to identifying water quality in the Gulf, EIAST spokesman Salem Al Marri said.

“DubaiSat-1 is a key element in the development process taking place in Dubai. The satellite highlights the commitment of the EIAST to create a knowledge-based economy by leveraging satellite technology.”

Meawhile, the EIAST is currently working on the final stages of the country’s fourth satellite DubaiSat-2, another joint project with South Korea. Sixteen UAE engineers, currently stationed in South Korea, have been working on the design, development, testing and manufacturing of the satellite, which is expected to be airborne by mid-2013.

Participation of UAE engineers in the project has doubled compared to DubaiSat-1 and it is hoped DubaiSat-2 will take the EIAST to the next level in space research.

The EIAST is conducting research using satellite data in many areas to monitor various environmental changes and manage natural hazards, in addition to identifying the quality of water in the Gulf region and the effect of waste on marine life in the oceans and environment.

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