The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) and the American University of Sharjah (AUS) have announced the successful launch of Nayif-1, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) first nano satellite launched into space.
Nayif-1 takes on added importance as an educational project with the goal of providing hands-on experience to Emirati engineering students on designing, building, testing and operating nano satellites.
The launch was a step toward the implementing of the “Mars 2117 Project.” The Nayif-1’s mission aims to send and receive text messages on amateur radio frequencies. The project’ objectives include characterizing and validating the accuracy of a thermal model of Nayif-1 with in-situ temperature measurements in space, as well as determining the evolution of the solar cells performance in space.
The nano satellite was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Center in India.
The ground station, located at the AUS, received the first signal from Nayif-1, 18 minutes and 32 seconds after it reached its orbit. A team of engineers and students were present at the ground station during launch. Nayif-1 will be operated and controlled from the ground station at AUS moving forward.
Speaking on this occasion, Bjorn Kjerfve, chancellor of the AUS, said: “The AUS is an institution dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in academia and research. The successful launch of Nayif-1 is a reflection of that vision and a proud moment for the AUS, considering the important part played in its development by seven Emirati students from the AUS. The nano satellite will be monitored by the ground station based at AUS. We are very pleased to have developed this project with MBRSC and look forward to future collaborations that will advance the skills and knowledge of AUS Emirati engineers in space technologies.”
Kjerfve said: “We are proud of our students’ role in the development of the satellite and their participation in completing all the phases of the space program. This is a living example of our strategy to move toward a knowledge-based economy, to promote innovation in the region, and serve the post-oil needs of the GCC countries.”
Commenting on the launch, Fatma Lootah, deputy project manager of Nayif-1, said: “Through the ground station at the AUS, we will continue to monitor the satellite to understand how it responds to commands in the daytime and in the evening; however it will be shifted later on to the autonomous mode. We will also verify the active control system board in Nayif-1, which determines the satellite’s direction and maintains its balance.”

Source: Arab News