Saudi Arabia launches two new satellites into space

Two Saudi-designed satellites were launched into space earlier this morning from China.

The satellites, which were developed by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, will be used to provide high-resolution images of the planet’s surface from low earth orbits, help with urban planning, monitor movements and changes on the earth’s surface, and provide government agencies with services, in particular, high-resolution images.

حدث تقني سعودي استثنائي.. شاهد لحظة انطلاق الصاروخ الذي يحمل القمرين الصناعيين #سعودي_سات5

@KACST#لنا_الأرض_والفضاء #رؤية_2030 pic.twitter.com/abF17UDcf9— MBC1 (@mbc1) December 7, 2018

Known as Sat 5a and Saudi Sat 5b, the satellites were launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and will join the second generation of Saudi Arabia’s high-accuracy remote-sensing satellites, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The satellites, which were developed by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology has launched 13 satellites to date, and participated in the exploration mission of "Changi 4" Satellite with the Chinese side.

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

The satellites, which were developed by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology

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