Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDDY (ABU DHABI)
Space42, the UAE space technology company, is strengthening the country’s sovereign capabilities in the space sector by localising key technologies involved in building and operating satellites, and extracting intelligence from the data they generate, company officials said during a media visit to its facilities in Abu Dhabi.
The officials showed journalists Space42’s assembly, integration, and testing facility, where synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites are assembled, integrated, and tested in partnership with Finnish space technology company ICEYE.
Three of the five satellites currently operating as part of Space42’s Foresight constellation — Foresight-3, Foresight-4 and Foresight-5 — underwent critical integration and testing at the Abu Dhabi facility before being shipped to the US for launch.
Space42 engineers worked across different satellite subsystems, conducting performance tests, payload calibration and flight qualification.
“That expertise now stays in the UAE, helping expand local manufacturing, develop the supply chain, and take on a greater share of future satellite development,” a Space42 note issued to Aletihad said.
The Foresight constellation is planned to comprise seven SAR satellites. Five are currently operational, with two additional satellites expected to be launched in 2027, when the constellation is targeted to reach maturity, the note said.
Abdullah Sharif, Senior Manager, Foresight Constellation at Space42, said the programme had achieved a number of firsts for the UAE and the wider region.
“This facility is the first commercial SAR assembly, integration and testing facility in the MENA region,” Sharif said.
“This is the first commercial SAR constellation in the region delivering 25-centimetre resolution,” he added.
Sharif also described Foresight as the first sovereign constellation in the GCC, giving the UAE greater control over how satellite imagery is generated, collected and processed.
“What this brings is, basically, the UAE today is controlling its eye,” Sharif said. “So when it comes to sovereignty, it’s not only about borders or making decisions, the political things, but where our data comes from.”
He said this control had implications for both the country’s economic and security capabilities.
Sharif also described Foresight as the UAE’s first dual-use Earth observation constellation, with the underlying satellite capabilities serving government as well as commercial applications.
SAR technology differs from conventional optical satellite imaging because the satellite emits its own radar signal towards the Earth and measures the reflected signal. This enables it to capture imagery during the day or night and through cloud, smoke, and dust, conditions that can restrict optical observation.
Sharif said this capability was particularly useful for monitoring infrastructure and assessing areas affected by disasters, where visibility could be poor precisely when information was most needed.
During his presentation, he showed SAR imagery of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, demonstrating how the technology could identify details including vehicles beneath covered parking areas.
He also showed imagery from a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, where SAR continued to capture changes on the ground despite smoke and cloud.
The 25-centimetre resolution available through the constellation allows objects of about that size or larger to be visualised in the satellite imagery.
Space42 is also combining satellite data with artificial intelligence to move beyond producing imagery towards generating information that can be directly used by decision-makers.
Sharif said repeated observations of the same location could effectively turn the constellation into a “change-detection machine”, allowing changes over time to be identified automatically.
Sharif said the company was building an integrated geospatial intelligence capability through its GIQ and GIX platforms, where AI can classify and detect objects, identify changes and produce reports or alerts from satellite data.
Viktor Stoyanov, COO of Smart Solutions at Space42, said the company was seeking sovereignty across the satellite value chain, including manufacturing, satellite operations and downstream data analytics.
“We want the satellites to be manufactured in the country for Space42 to receive technology transfer and knowledge transfer through partners, including ICEYE, to be able to maintain this core capability in-country,” Stoyanov said.
The localisation process is expected to deepen as technical knowledge is transferred and the UAE workforce develops further. Abu Dhabi already undertakes critical integration and testing for the Foresight satellites, establishing a foundation for a greater share of satellite development to take place locally.
Stoyanov said Space42’s own ground segment handles control of the satellites after launch, including their orbits, missions and instructions directing them to capture imagery of specified locations.
“The control of the satellites is also handled by our own ground segment. So we really have end-to-end control of the satellites,” he said.
One potential use is monitoring land subsidence, where repeated observations can identify areas where terrain is gradually sinking or rising and assess possible implications for buildings and other infrastructure. Stoyanov said AI could automate analysis that would otherwise require large numbers of analysts to examine satellite images individually.
ICEYE, meanwhile, is providing the underlying SAR technology and supporting its transfer and localisation in the UAE.
Christos Kolimenakis, CEO of ICEYE UAE, said the partnership was intended to extend beyond assembling individual satellites.
“Foresight for us is really the first building block of what we would like to do next as partners,” he said, citing further localisation, additional constellation capabilities and the development of a local ecosystem involving the supply chain, research institutions and universities.
ICEYE launched its first SAR satellite in 2018 and has since launched more than 76 satellites, Kolimenakis said.
Sharif said the expertise behind Foresight also draws on the legacy of Yahsat, Thuraya and Bayanat, which he described as pioneering businesses whose capabilities now sit within Space42.
“The lessons learned, the people and the knowledge today live in Space42 and live in Foresight itself,” he said.
