Dewa is ready to launch a second nanosatellite this month that will help further improve Dubai’s utility network.
The 6U nanosatellite — Dewa Sat-2 — will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and comes a year after it launched its first satellite.
The nanosatellite (or cubesat) features a high-resolution camera (4.7 metres) that will be used for Earth observation missions.
It was designed and developed at Dewa's R&D centre, in co-operation with NanoAvionics in Lithuania, and is part of Dewa's Space-D programme that it announced in 2021.
The programme aims to improve operations, maintenance and the planning of its networks by using nanosatellite technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) and remote sensing technologies.
This involves launching a nanosat constellation that will support Dewa’s primary satellite.
Utility companies like Dewa can use satellite technology to monitor and map their infrastructure as well as track the environmental impact their operations have. The data can also help these companies improve their services.
Dewa is the first utility in the world to launch nanosatellites to improve its operations.
The high-resolution camera on Dewa Sat-2 will provide continuous line-scan imaging in seven spectral bands from approximately 500km orbit.
The new satellite is also equipped with infrared equipment to measure greenhouse gases.
The combined use of Dewa Sat-2 images and IoT measurements from Dewa Sat-1 will enable Dewa to improve the operational performance of power generation and water desalination plants by providing accurate estimates of seawater temperature, seawater salinity, detection of red-tide, as well as fog monitoring and forecasting.
Dewa Sat-1, which was launched in January last year, uses a new wireless protocol designed for long-range and low-power communications, to expand the coverage of the existing terrestrial communications network.
Using satellite network communication, IoT and artificial intelligence helps improve the efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
