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UAE to Launch Second Emirati-Built Satellite in 2023

FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum attends the Global Women's Forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum attends the Global Women's Forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
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UAE to Launch Second Emirati-Built Satellite in 2023

FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum attends the Global Women's Forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum attends the Global Women's Forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo

The United Arab Emirates is developing a satellite dubbed MBZ-Sat intended to deliver high-resolution imagery, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said on Wednesday, as part of efforts to develop scientific and technological capabilities.

It will be the second Emirati satellite to be fully developed and built by a team of Emirati engineers following the KhalifaSat, which launched in 2018.

The satellite development is taking place at Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center. MBZ-Sat is expected to be launched in 2023.

Sheikh Mohammed said it would be the region’s most advanced civilian satellite in the field of high-resolution satellite imagery but gave no further detail.

In July, the UAE launched the first Arab mission to Mars, the Hope Probe, Reuters reported.

The UAE first announced plans for the Mars mission in 2014 and launched a National Space Program in 2017 to help develop local expertise.

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Coffee Lovers Find Grounds for Complaint at Australian Open

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
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Coffee Lovers Find Grounds for Complaint at Australian Open

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)

Melbourne prides itself on serving up the world's best coffee, but finding a hot brew at the Australian Open has proved a challenge for some of the tens of thousands of fans attending this year's Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Organizers have worked hard over the last decade to improve options for refreshment and an array of outlets at the Melbourne Park precinct.

Yet long queues face fans looking to indulge their passion for the city's favorite beverage at the 15 coffee stores Tennis Australia says dot the 40-hectare (99-acre) site.

"We need more coffee places open," said Katherine Wright, who has been coming to the tournament for the five years as she lined up for a hot drink near the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.

"We are big coffee drinkers, especially Melburnians."

The Australian Open attracts more than 90,000 fans a day early on in the tournament, when ground passes are relatively cheap, offering the chance to watch main draw action on the outer courts.

Liz, another Melburnian, said she stood in line for half an hour for a cup of coffee on Sunday, when rain halted play for six hours on the outer courts.

"This is a well-established global event," she added. "You actually need to be providing better service to the consumer."

Melbourne imports about 30 tons of coffee beans a day, the Australian Science Education Research Association says, representing a surge of nearly eightfold over the past decade that is sufficient to brew 3 million cups of coffee.

For Malgorzata Halaba, a fan who came from Poland on Sunday for her second Australian Open, finding one of those 3 million cups was a must.

"It seems it took me a day and a half, and several kilometers of walking around the grounds, to find coffee," she said. "And jet-lagged as I am, coffee is a lifesaver."