EgyptSat 1 or MisrSat-1 was Egypt's first Earth remote sensing satellite. This satellite was jointly built by Egypt's National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences together with the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Ukraine and was launched on board a Dnepr rocket on 17 April 2007 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The effort was spearheaded by Dr. Aly Sadek, chairman of the Egyptian Council for Space Science and Technology Research. It in many ways was considered a huge step for the Egyptians since it marked the first time they opted for technology transfer during the manufacturing the satellite rather than simply purchasing one (as in case of the Nilesat satellites). On 23 October 2010, the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences announced that control and communication with the satellite had been lost since July 2010.

History

In 2001, Egypt posted an international tender for the development of the first Egyptian satellite for the observation and remote sensing and bidders from Ukraine, UK, Russia, Korea and Italy competed for the deal. on June 26, 2001 KB Yuzhnoe design bureau from Ukraine announced winner and on October 24, a contract had been signed in Egypt. A consortium consisted of KB Yuzhnoe design bureau and sub-contractors Ukrainian companies:

Achievements and future plans

The objective of the three satellites is to provide comprehensive images of Egypt.

Equipment

Egyptsat 1 is considered a miniaturized satellite weighing 100 kg and is carrying two devices: an infrared sensing device and a high resolution multispectral imager together with store and forward communications payload.