Head of the Egyptian-Russian Foundation for Culture and Science, Hussain al-Shafei announced on Friday that the Russian State Corporation for Space Activities, Roscosmos, is currently testing a new Egyptian remote sensing satellite (EgyptSat A), projected to be launched towards the end of the year or the beginning of 2019.
Speaking to RT channel, Shafei said that the new Egyptian satellite was manufactured after the loss of “EgyptSAT 2”, which was launched in April 2014 for the National Authority for Remote Sensing & Space Sciences (NARSS) and announced missing and out of control in 2015.
According to Shafei, the old satellite was lost due to electromagnetic storms affecting it’s communication devices. After examination, Roscosmos and Energia Corporation, Russia’s leading rocket-space enterprise, concluded that what happened was not Egypt’s fault.
Since “EgyptSAT 2” was still in it’s warranty period, a new satellite was manufactured and paid for by Russia.
Shafei said the new satellite was agreed upon in August 2015 and is now complete, only undergoing final tests. It is expected to be transported to the Baikonur launch base in Kazakhstan by the end of the year.
He also said that the new Egyptian satellite would shoot in high-resolution, and clearly identify shapes ground reaching up to a meter. It’s memory would also be greater than in the old satellite, and it can better protect itself from external dangers.
He explained that the telescope of the new satellite is manufactured in the city of Minsk in Belarus, and features high-precision imaging.
Shafei expected that the new satellite would provide Egypt with images to help in drawing development plans and border conservation, along with identifying phenomena such as desertification and the proliferation of water channels while also helping to map plans for cities and villages.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
