SADEQ ALKHOORI (ABU DHABI)
Every satellite in orbit depends on decisions made far below it. At Space42, some of those decisions sit with Fatmah Alyammahi, an Emirati engineer whose work helps keep spacecraft on course, avoid debris risks, and continue delivering their missions.
As the UAE celebrates Emirati women this month, Alyammahi’s role offers a closer look at how they are contributing to the country’s space ambitions.
Alyammahi, Acting Vice President - Satellite Operations, leads work that includes calculating satellite orbits, planning thruster activations, and monitoring space debris.
“When a satellite is sent into space, it is not capable of maintaining itself within its orbit,” she told Aletihad.
Her team plans thruster activations, known as manoeuvres, to correct satellite orbits regularly. It also monitors debris and develops avoidance strategies to help prevent collisions.
Keeping a satellite safe is a daily exercise in prediction. Gravity from Earth and the moon, as well as pressure from the sun, can gradually pull it from its allocated position. Regular station-keeping manoeuvres are needed to keep it in place.
For Alyammahi, the work is also about protecting operational life, preserving fuel, and ensuring missions continue with minimal disruption.
Reading Risk Before it Becomes Danger
The balance becomes harder when space debris enters the picture. A possible conjunction, or close approach between objects in orbit, can interrupt routine planning and require engineers to reassess the safest path forward.
At Space42, Alyammahi said, the team does not wait for warnings to arrive. It conducts in-house analysis to detect possible future conjunctions, then compares debris orbits with Space42 satellite orbits before planning a response.
The aim is to manage risk early enough for it to be handled, where possible, within regular station-keeping cycles. This can reduce the need for dedicated avoidance manoeuvres and support efficient fuel use.
Some warnings require careful judgement. Alyammahi said the most difficult part of her role is staying patient and thinking analytically, especially when a warning may be a false positive because external providers do not have the latest orbital information.
“Engineers need to be calm, assess the consistency of the warning message, and calmly plan the best avoidance strategy,” she said.
That calm is becoming more important as orbit becomes more crowded. Alyammahi said Space42’s Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit, where satellites travel at around 7 kilometres per second, compared with around 3km per second for geostationary satellites.
Given that speed, flight dynamics analysis has to be checked daily.
The Experiment that Opened a Path
Alyammahi’s route into space began during university, while studying electronics and communications engineering. In one rooftop experiment, students pointed an antenna dish towards the AsiaSat4 satellite to receive a television signal.
“In my experience, this was an incredible experiment, that sparked my passion to learn more about space,” she said.
Although her academic background was in electronics and communications engineering, her current role is focused on aerospace and astrodynamics. She said she became the first Flight Dynamics Engineer in the GCC, a specialised role that encouraged her to build advanced technical skills.
For Alyammahi, careers in space and advanced technology require patience, dedication and resilience. She said she hopes younger women gain the confidence to deliver results, keep learning and navigate challenges without fear.
Alyammahi began her space journey in 2013. More than a decade later, her work reflects one form of Emirati women’s contribution to the UAE’s space sector: precise, continuous and often unseen, but central to keeping missions alive in orbit.