Bahrain’s satellite launch is today

Bahrain’s satellite launch is today

Bahrain's first-ever satellite will be launched into orbit from the International Space Station today, after having arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of last year.

Light-1 will be launched from the Japanese section of the ISS alongside another satellite designed to detect terrestrial gamma rays. The Light-1 satellite – a joint project between Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency (NSSA), UAE Space Agency, Khalifa University and New York University Abu Dhabi – will be used to conduct research during lightning storms, that will help civil aviation safety experts in future.

The launch will be broadcast live on Bahrain TV, and Bahrain’s NSSA engineering specialist Aysha Alharam will give the launch signal. The satellite will start operating about five hours after its launch and after receiving a signal from the ground station. It will then be in orbit for approximately 30 days to collect data.

The nanosatellite Light-1 was launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon-9 CRS-24 on December 21, 2021, from the Nasa Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US and docked at the ISS the next day. It was named after His Majesty King Hamad’s book First Light.The nanosatellite – approximately 10cm x 10cm x 34.5cm in size – will