DUBAISAT-2

DubaiSat-2 is an Earth observation satellite operated by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates. Launched on November 20, 2013, the spacecraft carries an electro-optical imaging payload designed to capture imagery of Earth's surface for both commercial and governmental applications. Catalogued by the United States Space Force under NORAD ID 39419 and internationally designated 2013-066D, the satellite remains in orbit more than a decade after its deployment, continuing to represent a significant milestone in the development of the UAE's indigenous space capabilities.

Mission and Purpose

The primary function of DubaiSat-2 is to acquire high-resolution electro-optical imagery of the Earth's surface. This imagery is intended to serve users within the United Arab Emirates as well as international customers, positioning the satellite as a commercial remote sensing asset rather than a purely governmental tool. Electro-optical systems of this class capture reflected sunlight across visible and near-infrared wavelengths, producing detailed images useful for applications ranging from urban planning and infrastructure monitoring to agricultural assessment and environmental observation.

Beyond the direct utility of its imagery, DubaiSat-2 was conceived as a vehicle for technological advancement within the UAE space program. One of MBRSC's stated objectives was to incorporate technologies and capabilities not present on its predecessor, DubaiSat-1, effectively using each successive spacecraft as a stepping stone toward greater national self-sufficiency in satellite design and operations. The mission therefore served a dual purpose: delivering a practical remote sensing service while simultaneously building institutional knowledge and technical expertise within the UAE.

A notable aspect of the program was its emphasis on human capital development. Sixteen Emirati engineers participated directly in the design, development, testing, and manufacturing phases of the satellite, working alongside their counterparts at the partner organization in South Korea. This level of hands-on Emirati involvement represented a doubling of participation compared to the earlier DubaiSat-1 program, reflecting a deliberate and structured effort to transfer knowledge and build a cadre of skilled space engineers within the country. The ambition was not merely to procure a satellite but to cultivate the expertise necessary to eventually develop future spacecraft with increasing levels of domestic contribution.

Orbit and Tracking

DubaiSat-2 operates in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialized polar orbit class that is particularly well-suited to Earth observation missions. A sun-synchronous orbit is arranged so that the satellite passes over any given point on Earth's surface at roughly the same local solar time on each successive pass. This consistency in solar illumination angle is highly valuable for imaging satellites, as it allows analysts to compare images taken weeks or months apart without the complicating variable of dramatically different lighting conditions. The predictable geometry also facilitates calibration of the imaging instrument over time.

The satellite's current orbital parameters reflect a nearly circular orbit. Its apogee — the farthest point from Earth's surface — stands at approximately 549 km, while its perigee — the closest point — is approximately 531 km, yielding a difference of only about 18 km between the two. This low eccentricity is characteristic of well-maintained Earth observation platforms, as a circular orbit ensures a relatively constant imaging altitude and thus a consistent ground resolution across passes. The orbital inclination of 97.5° confirms the sun-synchronous geometry, as sun-synchronous orbits require inclinations slightly greater than 90° to achieve the necessary slow precession of the orbital plane that keeps it aligned with the Sun.

At this altitude, DubaiSat-2 completes one full orbit of the Earth in approximately 95.3 minutes, meaning it circles the planet roughly fifteen times per day. This relatively rapid revisit rate, combined with the consistent solar geometry of the sun-synchronous regime, gives the satellite regular opportunities to image any given region of interest. The orbit falls within the broader category of low Earth orbit (LEO), which spans altitudes from roughly 160 km to around 2,000 km above the surface.

For satellite observers and trackers, DubaiSat-2 can be followed using its NORAD catalog number 39419 or its COSPAR international designator 2013-066D. These identifiers allow the satellite's orbital state vectors — updated regularly from ground-based radar and optical tracking networks — to be retrieved and used to generate precise pass predictions.

Design and Operator

DubaiSat-2 was developed through a collaborative arrangement between MBRSC and Satrec Initiative, a South Korean company with experience in the design and manufacture of small and medium-sized Earth observation satellites. The partnership was structured to allow direct participation by Emirati engineers throughout the development lifecycle, ensuring that the knowledge gained during the project would remain within the UAE's growing space workforce rather than residing entirely with the foreign contractor.

The satellite carries an electro-optical imaging instrument as its primary payload. Such instruments typically consist of a telescope or optical assembly focused onto a detector array, capturing light reflected from the ground and converting it into digital image data that is subsequently downlinked to ground stations and processed into usable imagery products. The specific technical specifications of DubaiSat-2's camera — including its ground resolution, swath width, and spectral bands — are not detailed in the publicly available catalog record for this object, and the satellite's mass is similarly not recorded in the verified catalog data.

MBRSC, the operating organization, is headquartered in Dubai and serves as the principal space agency and research institution for the Emirate of Dubai and, by extension, plays a central role in the broader UAE space sector. The center has been responsible for a series of progressively more ambitious programs, with each mission building on lessons learned from previous efforts. DubaiSat-2 represented the second satellite in this lineage and was followed by subsequent, more complex programs as the UAE's ambitions in space expanded considerably through the 2010s and into the 2020s.

Significance and Legacy

In the context of the UAE's space program, DubaiSat-2 holds a meaningful place as an early demonstration of the country's commitment to developing indigenous space capabilities. When it launched in November 2013, the satellite joined a still-modest national fleet and represented one of the more technically sophisticated Earth observation assets in the Arab world at the time.

The program's emphasis on engineer training proved consequential. The cohort of Emirati engineers who contributed to DubaiSat-2 went on to form part of the experienced technical workforce that would later work on more advanced national programs, including the Hope Mars Mission — formally known as the Emirates Mars Mission — which successfully entered Martian orbit in February 2021. The foundational skills in satellite design, systems engineering, and spacecraft testing that were cultivated through programs like DubaiSat-2 contributed, at least in part, to the institutional readiness required for that more ambitious undertaking.

As a commercial imaging asset, DubaiSat-2 also contributed to the development of a domestic remote sensing services sector, providing imagery for clients across the UAE and the broader region. Earth observation data of this kind supports a wide variety of applications — cadastral mapping, disaster response, coastline monitoring, and development planning among them — making a functioning imaging satellite a practically valuable national resource beyond its symbolic importance.

More than a decade after launch, DubaiSat-2 remains in orbit. Its continued presence in a stable sun-synchronous orbit at approximately 540 km altitude means it continues to be tracked by the global space surveillance network and its catalog entry is maintained as an active payload. Whether the satellite remains operationally active in terms of its imaging mission is not publicly confirmed in the catalog record, but its physical persistence in orbit is established.

How to Spot It

DubaiSat-2 occupies a low Earth orbit at altitudes between approximately 531 and 549 km, which places it within the range of naked-eye visibility under favorable conditions, though it is a relatively small spacecraft and is unlikely to rank among the brightest objects in the night sky. Observers interested in attempting a visual sighting should look for passes during twilight hours — either shortly after sunset or before sunrise — when the satellite is still illuminated by direct sunlight while the observer on the ground is in darkness. This geometric condition, inherent to the sun-synchronous orbit the satellite occupies, creates a regular pattern of observable evening and morning passes.

To obtain accurate, up-to-date pass predictions for a specific geographic location, trackers should use the NORAD ID 39419 in conjunction with a satellite prediction tool or the tracking resources available on this site. The orbital period of 95.3 minutes means predictions older than a few days may carry increasing positional uncertainty, so current two-line element (TLE) data should always be used for planning an observation attempt.