Saudi Arabia successfully launched on Tuesday the first Saudi satellite for communications (SGS-1).
Represented by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), the satellite was launched from the Guiana Space Center on an Ariane 5 rocket.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, had signed the final piece that was placed on the satellite with the words “above the clouds.”
The satellite was created in collaboration with Lockheed Martin.
Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the KACST board of directors, Khalid al-Falih stressed that this spectacular national achievement was a result of the great support provided by Custodian the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince.
The launch is part of Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to localize strategic technologies in the Kingdom, increase local content and enable Saudi youths to work with advanced state-of-the-art technologies in the field of satellite development and manufacturing.
Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin International, Richard Edwards, lauded his company’s strategic partnership with Riyadh, saying: “The successful launch is a first step in our unique partnership with KACST and Saudi Arabia, which is established on innovation, science, technology and human resources development”.
The satellite aims to employ advanced Ka-band capabilities to enable space communications at ultra-fast speeds, as part of the national strategic plan to fulfill the Kingdom’s domestic requirements, provide high-specification communications services specifically custom-made for the government sector and, at a commercial level, exporting these services to the MENA region, Europe, Africa and Central Asia.
The satellite also aims to improve local capabilities and human resources and creating job opportunities in the space industry.
The Saudi communications satellite, which will be operated and controlled by Saudi national personnel, has a multi-beam payload that provides a total throughput capacity of over 34 gigabits per second, as well as highly efficient solar panels that generate power with a total capacity exceeding 20 Kw.
The satellite has a processing unit that is capable of altering the ascending and descending signal configurations, a distribution unit that can pass communications to users, bypassing ground stations. In addition, it carries a communication Ku-band payload dedicated to Halasat, one of Arabsat’s affiliate companies.
The Saudi communications satellite employs hybrid (electric and chemical) propelling systems which has helped to reduce the satellite’s weight while increasing its life expectancy. It weighs 6.5 tons and has a life expectancy of over 20 years. It also uses advanced technologies enabling it to provide highly secured and anti-interference telecommunications.
The SGS-1, which is the first satellite of its kind to be owned by the Kingdom, will offer multiple applications that include broadband telecommunications, highly secured communications, as well as communications dedicated for remote areas and disaster-stricken areas.
