UAE launches ‘Falcon Eye’ satellite into space to mark National Day
The UAE has launched its 12th satellite to mark the country’s 49th National Day.
Reconnaissance satellite Falcon Eye was launched into space from the French Guiana Space Centre in South America at 5:33 a.m. UAE time (1:33 GMT) on Wednesday, according to the country’s state news agency WAM.
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The satellite launch is part of a five-year long project being implemented by the UAE’s Armed Forces, assisted by foreign experts.
The Falcon Eye is fitted with high-resolution photography technology and will be used for mapping, agricultural monitoring, urban planning, environmental monitoring, planning for natural disasters, and defense by monitoring the country’s borders and coasts.
The UAE Space Agency, founded in 2014, has expanded its scope in recent years – most notably in July 2020 when it launched the Hope Probe: the Arab world’s first mission to Mars.
In September, it was announced that the UAE would be sending a mission to the moon in 2024.
The Rashid Rover, named after Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, will explore parts of the moon that have not been reached in previous missions.
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