The first of ten AI-enabled Earth observation satellites built in Abu Dhabi has been deployed
Altair-1, the first commercial satellite built in the UAE has been launched into orbit.
The AI-enabled Earth observation satellite was built by Orbitworks and integrated by Loft Orbital, and was launched via a rideshare mission with Elon Musk’s SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California.
Altair-1 marks the launch of the Altair constellation, ten satellites forming the UAE’s first commercial, AI-enabled Earth observation network.
It was designed, assembled, integrated and tested at Orbitworks’ facility in Abu Dhabi and flown to California in August.
The other nine satellites will follow through 2027.
His Excellency Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, congratulated the Orbitworks team on this milestone, highlighting the private sector’s role in building advanced, scalable national space industries.
“The launch of Altair-1 reflects the strength of the UAE’s national space ecosystem and its growing capacity to develop and manufacture advanced space technologies.
Guided by the National Space Strategy 2031, we are bringing together research, industry and investment to enable national companies to innovate, grow and contribute to economic diversification,” said Al Falasi.
Al Falasi also said that Altair-1 also demonstrates how capabilities developed in the UAE can deliver solutions with commercial value beyond our borders.
“By opening new markets and international partnerships for UAE companies, the launch will strengthen the country’s contribution to the global space sector and advance our ambition to become one of the world’s ten leading space economies by 2031,” said Al Falasi.
What will the new satellite do?
At full strength in 2027, the constellation is designed to revisit any point on Earth roughly every four hours.
Operating in real time and autonomously, the satellites process data at the edge and act on what they detect, fast enough to catch a wildfire at its first heat signature or locate a vessel operating clandestinely.
It will support disaster response, maritime awareness, environmental monitoring, food security, infrastructure surveillance, and national security applications.
Where does the name derive from?
Altair takes its name from the Arabic al-ṭā’ir ( الطائر(,” the flying one”, a star used for centuries to navigate by.
It is also a reference to the Altair 8800, the 1975 computer for which Microsoft wrote its first BASIC interpreter.
Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, CEO of Orbitworks and Marlan Space explained how the project has gone from idea to execution.
Two years ago, Orbitworks was an idea. Today, a satellite built in Abu Dhabi is in orbit. The UAE is no longer only a buyer of space capability; it is a builder of it.
“Altair-1 is the first of ten, and the start of a future in which customers see, decide and act on their own terms, with intelligence created in orbit,” said Mohib.
Pierre-Damien Vaujour, CEO of Loft Orbital, said his company was proud to have been a small contributor to this landmark achievement in Abu Dhabi.
“The UAE space ecosystem has been growing steadily on solid foundations for decades, and it is now ready for liftoff. The launch of the first satellite produced at Orbitworks’ KEZAD’s Abu Dhabi facility paves the way for 10 more over the next 12 months and 50 more over the next few years.
“This moment shows the world what the UAE has quietly built, and that it is ready to lead globally in AI-powered satellite constellation production and operations,” said Vaujour.