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EIAST - Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology

The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), a Dubai government entity that was established by law in 2006, as part of a national UAE initiative to promote scientific innovation, with the emphasis on space technology and promoting sustainable development.

EIAST Strategy
Its strategy embraces the imperative to develop the nation’s youth through research and development in the space arena, so that they are empowered to contribute across the entire socio-economic spectrum.

EIAST Primary Objectives

 * Promote a culture of advanced scientific research and technological innovation, especially with regards to satellite technology ;
 * Build an internationally competitive base for human skills development;
 * Position Dubai and the UAE as a space technology development hub among advanced nations;
 * Establish international collaborative links and joint projects with industry and research organizations;
 * Optimise the potential of DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2 by broadening their applications; and
 * Provide support to decision-makers in all sectors, through the application of its specialist skills;

The Four Core Programs
To achieve its goal of effectively using space science technologies and applications, EIAST has pursued the following four core programs:


 * Research and development in the area of outer space
 * Satellite manufacturing and systems development
 * Earth observation imaging from satellites and value added services.
 * Ground station services and support to other satellites

DubaiSat-1
EIAST entered into an agreement with Satrec Initiative (a satellite manufacturing company in South Korea) to develop and launch, with participation from EIAST engineers, an earth observation satellite. On July 29, 2009 DubaiSat-1 was launched into a 680 km altitude, sun-synchronous polar orbit from the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan on board a Dnepr Launch Vehicle.

DubaiSat-1 observes the earth at a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and generates high resolution optical images at 2.5m panchromatic (Pan) and 5m multispectral (MS) bands. These images provide decision makers in the UAE and EIAST clients with a valuable tool for a wide range of applications including infrastructure development, urban planning as well as environment monitoring and protection. DubaiSat-1 images are also used extensively to promote geosciences and remote sensing research in the region and support different scientific disciplines in private and academic sectors.

DubaiSat-1 Images have been used, for example, to monitor progress on the Dubai World megaproject, Palm Islands and Al Maktoum International Airport.

The United Nations also used DubaiSat-1 images to monitor relief efforts following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011.

Images of the earth captured by DubaiSat-1 are transmitted to a ground station in Dubai.

DubaiSat-2
EIAST is expecting to launch DubaiSat-2 in the last quarter of 2012. This will feature an electro-optical earth observation satellite system with a Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) of 1m at 600km sun-synchronous orbit. DubaiSat-2 is relatively small at less than 300kg. It will provide electro-optical image data that can be commercialized in the UAE and other regions. DubaiSat-2 incorporates a wide range of new technologies not implemented in its predecessor, allowing it to exceed the performance of spacecrafts in its weight class.

New Directions
The Institution is moving rapidly towards establishing its own satellite manufacturing and testing facility in Dubai. It will continue to invest heavily in awareness and education.

Contact Information

 * Telephone: +971-4-6071200
 * Fax: +91-4-2893600
 * Postal: P O Box 211833, Dubai, UAE
 * Email: mailto:info@eiast.ae
 * Web: www.eiast.ae
 * Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EIAST
 * Twitter: https://twitter.com/EIAST