The first Kuwaiti Satellite ‘KUWAIT-SAT1’ was launched on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, at 5:57 pm. The satellite project was executed by Kuwait University with support from KFAS, and in cooperation with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center and the University of Boulder in the State of Colorado. The launch took place on board the (Falcon 9) missile of SpaceX, from the (Cape Canaveral) Air Force Base in the state of Florida. KUWAIT-SAT1 was the first satellite launched by SpaceX in 2023. The first signal is estimated to reach the ground station at the College of Science at Kuwait University (Sabah Al-Salem University City) in 4 hours. It will include the battery percentage and data related to the health and readiness of its systems and devices.
The satellite team includes 45 students from various science majors at Kuwait University under the supervision of the Project Manager Dr. Hala Al-Jassar, the Director of Operations and Deputy Project Director Dr. Ahmed Al-Kandari, and the Academic Director of the project, Dr. Yasser Abdulrahim.
The launching was held under the patronage of Kuwait University and in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Hamad Abdel-Wahhab Al-Adwani, and the Director General of KFAS Dr. Khaled Al-Fadhel, and in the presence of the Acting President of Kuwait University, Prof. Suad Muhammad Al-Fadli, and the Acting Secretary-General of Kuwait University, Prof. Fayez Munsher Al-Dhafiri, the Acting Dean of the College of Science, Dr. Muhammad bin Sabt, leaders of Kuwait University, members of the academic and administrative staff, and government institutions in the State of Kuwait. The ceremony was held at the southern theater of the College of Sciences in Sabah Al-Salem University City.
His Excellency the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Hamad Abdel-Wahhab Al-Adwani expressed his pride in the efforts of those in charge of the project headed by Dr. Hala Al-Jassar and a group of promising and creative young men and women at Kuwait University, who made their mark in transferring Kuwait to the world of space to be among the leading regional countries in this field.
The Acting President of Kuwait University, Prof. Suad Muhammad Al-Fadli said "Today we celebrate a historic event with the launch of the first satellite (KuwaitSat-1) from the US state of Florida, Cape Canaveral base by Spacex Falcon 9, which is an educational satellite emanating from the Department of Physics at Kuwait University in cooperation with other departments in the College of Science and Engineering, with the participation of the National Satellite Project team and with the support of the KFAS”. She expressed her pride that Kuwait University is the pioneer of the space sector in Kuwait.
The Acting Dean of the College of Science, Dr. Muhammad bin Sabt praised the role of Kuwait’s youth in this achievement, confirming that they can compete and lead with their serious vision and hard work to overcome challenges.
The Project Manager Dr. Hala Al-Jassar said that the project has two objectives, one of which is strategic, which is to train Kuwaiti youth in building, managing and operating space projects in Kuwait and establishing the first space laboratory at Kuwait University. The other objective is scientific, which is taking high-resolution images from the camera installed in the satellite for various applications.
The Academic Director of the project, Dr. Yasser Abdulrahim, stated that the satellite will revolve around the earth, and it is equipped with a high-resolution camera that sends images to Kuwait to be analyzed by the applications team.
The Director of Operations and Deputy Project Manager, Dr. Ahmed Al-Kandari indicated that within the next three weeks, the satellite will be examined with the technical team to receive the images, classify them, archive them, and analyze the technical condition of the moon and its safety, in addition to the applications team, which deals with image analysis and includes university graduates from multiple disciplines in Marine sciences, geology, architecture, and environment.
The CEO of Scientific Advancement for Publishing from the KFAS, stated that the Foundation has supported this national project from its beginning, hoping that this achievement will be a cornerstone for the establishment of a space research center in Kuwait.