IN PICTURES: Saudi university develops two new reconnaissance satellites

The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology developed two new reconnaissance satellites, “Saudi Sat 5A” and “Saudi Sat 5B”, which will be added to the second generation of high-accuracy Saudi remote-sensing satellites to be launched this year, according to a Saudi Gazette report.

Saudi expertise and competencies working in the field of satellite industry and development manufactured and tested the two satellites in accordance with the international standards in KACST laboratories.

According to the report, this national achievement comes as a result of the great support provided by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, for research and development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in general and KACST in particular.

“Saudi Sat 5” adds to the Kingdom’s list of accomplishments acquired in the fields of space and satellites.

KACST also launched 13 satellites and participated in the exploration mission of “Changi 4” Satellite with the Chinese.

The university provided the advanced services for the remote-sensing system, and launched a developed system for satellite tracking and controlling of commercial ships. The system includes comprehensive daily coverage of ship traffic of up to 30,000 ships around the world.

The launch of the two new satellites comes as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 aiming to localize strategic technologies, maximize local content and empower the Saudi youth to gain knowledge of advanced technologies in the development and manufacture of satellites.