A space rocket, carrying the First Kuwaiti Satellite (Kuwait Sat-1) will launch into space from Florida in the United States on January 3, 2023.

Dr Ahmed Al-Kandari, the Operator Director at the National Project for the first Kuwaiti satellite, stated that once the Kuwait Sat-1 reached its intended orbit, it would disengage from the rocket and spread its wings containing solar-powered batteries that would enable it to operate.

He also stated that the satellite could send its first message in four hours and two minutes after launch with the signal received at a station in Kuwait University.

During World Space Week, Dr Hala Al-Jassar, director of the National Project for Kuwait’s First Educational Satellite and member of the teaching faculty at Kuwait University’s Physics Department stated that the launch was announced as a part of the national project for the first Kuwait satellite (Kuwait Sat-1) that is supported by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences in collaboration with several departments at the Colleges of Sciences and Engineering and Petroleum. According to her, the data reception station would be set up shortly and housed in the College of Sciences’ northern building.

The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences funds this project.