DUBAI: In an early Sunday tweet, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed launched a $817 million fund to help the space sector.
The National Space Fund, a new $817 million national investment and development fund for the space sector, was unveiled by the president.
“The formation of a dedicated fund to support the UAE’s developing space programme, as well as the commencement of a new effort to develop radar satellites,” the president tweeted.
The Fund’s initial space project will be a constellation of powerful remote sensing satellites that will use radar technologies to deliver unsurpassed imaging capabilities.
Sirb, the Arabic word for a flock of birds, will be given to the constellation.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE vice president, prime minister, and ruler of Dubai, stated on Twitter that the fund will promote the formation of national firms in the space industry as well as national strategic and research projects.
The “Sirb” initiative, according to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, intends to boost the country’s competitiveness in the space sector.
According to state-run WAM, the planned satellites will be able to provide highly comprehensive and complex radar ‘pictures’ of land usage, ice cover, surface changes, and characterization, with a wide range of scientific, civil, and commercial applications.
According to a statement on WAM, the project would help the UAE find answers to climate change, environmental sustainability, and enhanced disaster management.
According to the platform, it will assist monitor the changes that occur on the world as a result of climate change and discover novel solutions for environmental sustainability.
Source: Arab News