JEDDAH: Two satellites designed and made in Saudi Arabia will be launched on Saturday morning, said Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Space Authority.

“We congratulate ourselves on launching two satellites for the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and King Saud University (KSU) tomorrow morning, manufactured by Saudi hands,” he said in a video.

One of the satellites, “Shaheen Sat,” will become the 17th KACST spacecraft to be launched in Kazakhstan. It will be used for photography and maritime tracking purposes.

The other satellite, “CubeSat,” has been designed by KSU for educational use. The university will become the first in the Kingdom to launch a satellite into space. The cube-shaped satellite has 10 centimeter dimensions and weighs about 1 kilogram.

KSU will use its ground station for the project. The station can communicate with satellites and the International Space Station.

“I congratulate King Saud University for undertaking these scientific missions that aim to develop the sectors related to the space industry,” said Prince Sultan.

He added: “I must recall a historical stage when the Kingdom, in 1985, participated with a big scientific team in a space mission. Therefore, when we presented the space program of KACST, after receiving the government’s approval, of course. A lot of work had been done already, leading to this construction stage and to the Kingdom’s launching of these satellites in a first step.”

Prince Sultan said that with the establishment of the Saudi Space Authority as an umbrella institution, the Kingdom is looking to produce major achievements in partnership with bodies and institutions that work in the field of scientific research, such as KACST, and others that work in manufacturing, including several Saudi institutions.

The satellite launch is being led by Dr. Saleh Al-Athel, Dr. Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel, Prince Turki bin Saud, Dr. Anas Al-Faris and their colleagues.

“I am hopeful that great moves and achievements will be made so that we can continue to be in the lead. The Kingdom deserves to be in a position of leadership in everything, including space activities,” he added.

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