SaudiSat-4 launched from Russia's Dombarovsky air base

SaudiSat-4 has been successfully launched into space aboard a Dnepr rocket.

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The lift-off took place from Russia’s Dombarovsky air base on the evening of Thursday 19th June.

Weighing 100 kgs, the SaudiSat 4 technology demonstrator aims to record the speed of spacecraft solely by gravity - without the interference of solar pressure and atmospheric drag. It will also test technologies for future missions that will research gravitational waves.
 
This is the 13th industrial satellite launched by Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), said in a press statement on Friday that the satellite also intended to carry out a scientific experiment using ultraviolet radiation.
 
The experiment was developed by a joint team from KACST and Stanford University, he added.
 
The satellite features lightweight honeycomb panels with carbon fibre skins, manufactured by TRB Lightweight Structures, and solar PV panels by Clyde Space, both in the UK.
 
Providing a rigid and lightweight solution, the carbon-skinned aluminium honeycomb panels were instrumental in reducing the overall weight of the satellite, while the solar PV panels supply the satellite with its main source of power.
 
Steve Nichols

Steve Nichols

Steve (BSc Hons, FIIC) is a journalist and communicator with more than 35 years' experience.