UAE launches Altair-1, first commercial satellite built in the country
Abu Dhabi: Altair-1, the first commercial satellite built in the UAE and integrated by Loft Orbital, launched aboard the Transporter-18 rideshare mission with SpaceX at 11:32 a.m., PT / GST from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Altair-1 successfully deployed and acquired a signal, the satellite is nominal is now in commissioning Altair-1 marks the launch of the Altair constellation: ten…
On October 11, the United Arab Emirates launched its first commercial satellite, Altair-1, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Developed and built by Orbitworks at its facility in Abu Dhabi, the satellite successfully deployed and began transmitting a signal upon reaching orbit. Altair-1 is part of the UAE's Altair constellation, a network of ten satellites designed to provide commercial, AI-enabled Earth observation capabilities. The other nine satellites in the constellation are scheduled to follow in 2027.
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, praised the launch, highlighting the UAE's growing capacity to develop advanced space technologies and its commitment to diversifying its economy. He emphasized that Altair-1 demonstrates the UAE's ability to create commercial value through its space capabilities and strengthen international partnerships.
Each Altair satellite is equipped with five integrated sensors, including optical, shortwave infrared, thermal, hyperspectral, and radio frequency sensors. The onboard NVIDIA GPUs process the data into analysis-ready intelligence within minutes, significantly faster than traditional ground-based processing methods. The constellation will provide real-time, autonomous data processing, enabling responses to various critical situations such as wildfires and maritime threats.
Altair-1 was built at Orbitworks' 50,000-square-foot facility in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, which opened in November 2025 as the first commercial satellite production facility in the Middle East. The site features a 15,000-square-foot ISO-class cleanroom, EMI chambers, thermal vacuum systems, and shaker tables, with the capacity to produce up to 50 satellites per year at full scale.
Pierre-Damien Vaujour, CEO of Loft Orbital, expressed pride in the UAE's growing space ecosystem and the launch's significance in positioning the country as a leader in AI-powered satellite constellation production and operations. Altair-1 has already secured anchor customers, including entities from the French government, the Abu Dhabi Maritime Academy, and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.
The company is also in discussions with potential customers in North America, Africa, and Asia for access to the remaining capacity.
Written by urgent.news from Gulf News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
