National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) - UAEU

The National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) was jointly established by UAE University, the UAE Space Agency and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s ICT Fund in 2016 at Al Ain City, UAE. The center has been established with the vision to become the leading center in the space sector in the UAE and to become a major contributor to the UAE’s national strategic innovation agenda.

In order to fulfil this vision, the center is currently building state-of-the-art facilities including a satellite ground station and an assembly, integration, and testing (AIT) facility capable of hosting the development of multiple satellites each of size up to 200 kg. This world-class facility is designed and being built with top standards to accommodate the AIT activities for NSSTC’s projects.

NSSTC currently hosts several major space projects. The 813 satellite is a Hyperspectral remote sensing satellite intended act as a platform of collaboration between member countries of the Arab Space Cooperation Group (ASCG). The Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) augmentation signaling (GNSSaS) Satellite is a 6U CubeSat currently under development at NSSTC and is planned for launch in 2021 . NSSTC is also co-developing the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) CubeSat project that is the outcome of the 2nd GRSS Student Grand Challenge run and funded jointly by the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) and NSSTC.

In association with the spacecraft development projects, NSSTC works actively on multidisciplinary space research. Several research groups has been established with a focus on space resource utilization, space communication and precision positioning, on-board real time systems, Ground Segment and Radio Observatory, in-Space Propulsion, and Earth and planetary science with emphasis on planetary and mars atmosphere, based around work in collaboration with the Emirates Mars Mission EMM (Hope probe) which was launched in July 2020, arriving at Mars in early 2021.