EIAST’s new satellite facility. Photo: EIAST

[Via Satellite 08-20-2014] The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) is a few months away from finishing construction of the United Arab Emirate’s first domestic satellite manufacturing facility. Once complete, the facility, which spans more than 210 square meters, will house an electrical laboratory, a mechanical laboratory and a clean room for domestic satellite production.

EIAST built its first two satellites, DubaiSat 1 and DubaiSat 2 in South Korea. The organization’s next satellite, Khalifa Sat, will be relocated to Dubai once the new facility is active. For the time being, EIAST has engineers working in South Korea, providing guidance on the new facility as needed.

The primary facility under construction is the first phase of a larger two year EIAST project to develop satellite infrastructure. The completed project will enable the full domestic manufacture of satellites in Dubai.