DEWA nanosatellite launch date moved to April 14

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has moved the launch date of its second nanosatellite for remote sensing applications to April 14

The 6U nanosatellite is part of DEWA’s Space-D programme.

DEWA Sat-2 will be launched by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA. It was designed and developed at Dewa’s R&D centre, in co-operation with NanoAvionics in Lithuania, and is part of Dewa’s Space-D programme that it announced in 2021.

The new satellite features a high-resolution camera (4.7 meters) that will be used for Earth observation missions. The high-resolution camera provides continuous line-scan imaging in seven spectral bands from approximately 500km orbit. The new satellite is also equipped with Infrared equipment to measure greenhouse gases.

The combined use of DEWA SAT-2 images and Internet of Things (IoT) measurements from DEWA SAT-1 will enable DEWA to improve the operational performance of power generation and water desalination plants by providing accurate estimates of seawater temperature, seawater salinity, detection of red-tide, as well as fog monitoring and forecasting.

DEWA launched DEWA-SAT1 in January 2022. It uses a new wireless protocol designed for long-range and low-power communications, to expand the coverage of the existing terrestrial communications network.