Bahrain has an ambitious plan to a position itself in an international prominence in the field of space science for the purpose of achieving comprehensive and sustainable development. This ambition is led by His Majesty, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, with Royal vision to position the Kingdom of Bahrain in the ranks of the leading countries in the space sector and to contribute in international efforts to harness space science and its applications in the service of humanity. A national space policy was developed to translate the royal vision into action
The National Space Science Agency (NSSA) was established by Royal Decree No (11) for the Year (2014) (Arabic only), to achieve this vision. NSSA’s mission is “To device comprehensive programs to embrace and develop activities related to space science, research and related studies.
The objective of NSSA is to enhance space-based technology services for governance and development, and work on exciting potential new space missions to advance research and development in space sciences. The NSSA is in the process of developing a national space law for the kingdom.
The Kingdom of Bahrain focused on capacity building and building national capabilities in the field of space science to create a prominent and excellent national space science foundation, with the aim to develop advance research programs and enhancing innovation to take the nation towards a scientific and technological development in line with Bahrain’s 2030 vision.
Bahrain Space Team engineers and technicians have published more than 10 scientific papers in 2020, and work is underway to publish more scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals and international conferences specializing in the field of satellite construction and their applications.
Two members of the Bahrain Space Team of the National Space Science Agency (NSSA) have participated in the construction and designing of the Emirati mini satellite “DhabiSat”, which was launched from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, US and arrived at the International Space Station (ISS). The Bahraini aerospace engineers participated in the implementation of a set of structural tests and analyses to ensure the integrity of the miniature satellite’s structure and all its electronic devices. The cooperation with regional and international space agencies and centers is used for knowledge transfer, and gain expertise for future space initiatives for Bahrain.
National Space Science Agency (NSSA) announced the launch of the first Bahraini satellite by the end of the year 2021, designed and developed by team of young Bahrainis. The satellite project mission will be to conduct a fist of its kind specialized study about Gamma ray and its effect on aviation, in addition to measuring its effect on the health of professionals working in the field of aviation.
A Satellite Laboratory at the University of Bahrain has been established in cooperation with NSSA. This laboratory receives members of Bahrain’s space team to complete their post graduate studies specializing in space science engineering to join other Bahraini experts in the design, construction, and operation of satellites.
The NSSA also established a lab for processing space data and satellite images. The lab analyzes and produce spatial data and produces visualizations of geographic data for stakeholders in agriculture, environment, and other sectors.
The field of space and its science has a positive impact on various sectors such as education, health, agriculture, technology, security, communications, transportation, scientific research, and many others. The kingdom of Bahrain is utilizing space science and technologies in achieving the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In pursuit to meet the relevant national needs by making use of space science in the service of one of the SDG2 targets related to food security, a team of young national competencies was able to employ artificial intelligence techniques in the automatic monitoring of all palm trees existing on the land of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The total palm trees and their geographical distribution in the Kingdom’s governorates enable researchers and investors to carry out further research in the field of food security, such as estimating the amount of production for each palm tree.
In addition, satellite imagery is used to monitor oil spills in the Arabian Gulf using a combination of spatial and non-spatial information sources. This information is used to monitor and predict environmental impact of oil spills and contribute to the activation of emergency and disaster plans.
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Content Last Updated: 27 Aug, 2023
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