DEWA readies second nanosatellite for launch by SpaceX

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has completed the preparations to launch its second nanosatellite for remote sensing applications.

DEWA’s second satellite, DEWA Sat-2 will be launched by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA. The launch was scheduled for Tuesday 11 April, but has been postponed to Saturday 15 April due to bad weather.

The 6U nanosatellite is part of DEWA’s Space-D programme and follows the first DEWA Sat-1, which was launched in January 2022 and has demonstrated the potential of space-based data in the planning, operation and maintenance of electricity and water networks.

For example, DEWA quotes using satellite data with artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of PV solar panels at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park outside Dubai.

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DEWA Sat-2 was designed and developed at DEWA’s Research and Development Centre in cooperation with nanosatellite specialist NanoAvionics in Lithuania.

The satellites use LoRa IoT communication technology, a new wireless protocol designed for long-range and low-power communications, to expand the coverage of the existing terrestrial communications network.

The new satellite features a high (4.7m) resolution camera for Earth observation missions, providing continuous line-scan imaging in seven spectral bands from its approximately 500km orbit.

DEWA Sat-2 also is equipped with infrared equipment to measure greenhouse gases.

DEWA anticipates that the combined use of DEWA Sat-2 images and IoT measurements from DEWA Sat-1 will enable further improvements in the operational performance of power generation and water desalination plants by providing accurate estimates of seawater temperature and salinity and the detection of red tides, as well as fog monitoring and forecasting.

(This story has been updated on Friday 14 April to reflect the correct scheduled launch date, which was changed multiple times during the course of the week.)