Meet the students, faculty and researchers who are contributing to the DhabiSat mission. DhabiSat is the second mini satellite, or CubeSat, to be developed by a team of KU students.Ěý

Find out who they are and what role they are playing to ensure DhabiSat’s success.

To learn more about the mission and scope of DhabiSat, read this article.Ěý

Faculty

Dr. Firas Salah Jarrar Acting Manager of Yahsat Space Lab & Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Students

Ahmed Ali Albuainain MSc Engineering Systems and Management (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Communication subsystem team. Also involved in Risk Management and Concept of Operations team.

Aysha Khaled Alharam MSc Electrical and Computer Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Attitude Determination and Control/Payload/On-Board Computer subsystem. Also involved in Concept of Operations team.

Ebrahim Ali Almansoori MSc Engineering Systems and Management (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Concept of Operations team.

Aaesha Ahmed Almazrouei MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Mechanical subsystem.

Yaqoob Khaled Alqassab MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Attitude Determination and Control subsystem.

Muhammad Taha Ansari MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Attitude Determination and Control/Mechanical subsystem.

Ahmed Mohamed Bushlaibi MSc Engineering Systems and Management (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Electrical Power subsystem.

Abdullah Alansari MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of the Attitude Determination and Control subsystem.

Ali Andan Al Mahmood MSc Engineering Systems and Management (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of On-Board Computer/Attitude Determination and Control subsystem. Also involved in Fault, Detection, Isolation and Recovery team.

Aaliya Khan MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Mechanical subsystem. Also involved in Project Management team.

Abdullah Almesmari MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of the Mechanical subsystem.

Adham Alkhaja MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of the Attitude Determination and Control subsystem.

Ali Alhammadi MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of the Mechanical subsystem.

Ali Alqaraan MSc Electrical and Computer Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Attitude Determination and Control subsystem.

Alya AlHammadi MSc Electrical and Computer Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Electrical Power subsystem.

Amina AlBalooshi MSc Engineering Systems and Management (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of On-Board Computer/Attitude Determination and Control subsystem. Also involved in Risk Management and Fault, Detection, Isolation and Recovery team.

Amna Adheem MSc Engineering Systems and Management (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Attitude Determination and Control/Payload subsystem.

Ashraf Khater MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of the Mechanical subsystem.

Fatama Alshehhi MSc Electrical and Computer Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Electrical Power subsystem.

Manal Alshehhi MSc Computing and Information Sciences (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of On-Board Computer team.

Muneera Al-Shaibah MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Mechanical subsystem.

Reem Alali MSc Electrical and Computer Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Electrical Power subsystem.

Safeyya Alshehhi MSc Computing and Information Sciences (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of On-Board Computer team.

Taryam Al Katheeri MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Mechanical subsystem.

Fatima Alketbi MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Mechanical subsystem.

Ruqayya Ahmed Yousef MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Mechanical subsystem. Also involved in Orbit Analysis team.

Shaima Bahumaish MSc Mechanical Engineering (Space Systems and Technology Concentration) / Member of Attitude Determination and Control subsystem. Also involved in Orbit Analysis team.

Lab Engineers

Vu Thu System Engineer

Panagiotis Dimitropoulos Software Engineer

Basel AlTawil Mechanical Engineer

Hamzeh Issa Communication Engineer

The post Meet the KU Team Behind DhabiSat appeared first on Khalifa University.

DhabiSat CubeSat to Enable Students to Design, Implement, and Test Software Modules for Attitude Determination and Control Systems Ěý

DhabiSat, the second CubeSat designed and developed by Khalifa University students with support from Al Yah Satellite Company (Yahsat) and Northrop Grumman, launched on 20 February from aboard the Cygnus spacecraft.

The primary mission of the second CubeSat, previously known as MYSat-2, is to enable students to design, implement, and test software modules for attitude determination and control systems (ADCS). The work has been conducted at the Yahsat Space Lab, which is part of the Khalifa University Space Technology and Innovation Center (KUSTIC).

DhabiSat will assess the accuracy of various ADCS pointing control strategies and validate the same by taking images using a digital camera onboard pointed in specific directions. The new ADCS algorithms shall improve the pointing accuracy of the CubeSat and its response time to attitude changes as compared to conventional algorithms. In terms of system resources, DhabiSat will require less power to achieve the targeted pointings and if successful, the algorithms will gain flight heritage on board DhabiSat, which then can be used as a baseline in future CubeSat missions.

Ěý

DhabiSat took off from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, US, on the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, to the International Space Station (ISS) on 20 February 2021. It will then be deployed from the resupply spacecraft Cygnus NG-15, following departure from the ISS in approximately two to three months.

Khalifa University’s MYSat-1, the first mission that was conceptualized, designed, integrated, tested and operated as part of an academic program in the UAE, was deployed in February 2019. It carried an experimental coin cell battery, based on technology developed by Khalifa University students along with a VGA camera developed at the Yahsat Space Lab based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components.

Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
14 February 2021

The post Khalifa University’s DhabiSat Set for Launch on 20 February from Aboard Cygnus appeared first on Khalifa University.

Read Arabic story here:

Greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas operations pose a critical challenge for the industry, especially methane. Methane is responsible for 25 percent of global warming, with over a third of its emissions from the oil and gas industry.

Detecting methane emissions and leaks has historically been difficult due to technical, logistical, and cost limitations. However, methane emission-tracking satellites offer an opportunity to achieve precise, timely, and affordable detection of methane on a large scale, particularly if machine learning models can be applied to the remote sensing data they capture.

In the Microsoft Energy Core AI Academy Hackathon, Hydrocarbon Release and Its Environmental Impact, a team from Khalifa University, placed third, finding new ways to harness machine learning techniques to identify methane emissions and leaks from satellite remote sensing data.

A hackathon is an event typically lasting several days, in which a large number of people meet to engage in solving a targeted challenge. Aysha Alharam, Ahmed Bushlaibi and Hamzeh Issa, mentored by Dr. Prashanth Marpu, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, developed an application that placed third in the event, with the team invited to present their solution to the Energy Core industry board executive members following the Hackathon. First and second place were awarded to Shell and Repsol, both companies with significant research and development departments.

The team built an application to find the sources of a methane leak, classify each detected reading as either a source or a consequence of another source, and to separate these detections from others in order to make locating and fixing the leak much easier and cheaper. The team used the data from the Sentinel 5P, a satellite measuring the atmosphere above the Permian basin and Saudi Arabia, over a 10-day period.

Their method involved satellite data pre-processing to eliminate all data points that did not meet the requirements, tracking the source of the leakage by tracing points and clusters, and then using visualization techniques to indicate the source of the methane leak. They built a timeline to identify each cluster of data points that indicated methane and link these clusters with their corresponding possible sources from past data. Using this approach, they could pinpoint the correct methane source using multiple parameters, like the concentration, distance and density of the gas.

This solution could be further improved with more data to verify the methods and by applying more parameters such as wind direction to make the results more precise.

As fossil fuels will remain an essential part of the energy mix for the foreseeable future, the industry needs proper detection, reporting and analysis mechanisms to manage production safety and its ecological impact.Ěý

Jade Sterling
Science Writer
23 November 2020

The post Methane Leak Detection Using Satellite Imagery appeared first on Khalifa University.

The mini CubeSat was developed by students from Khalifa University and the American University of Ras Al Khaimah, with support from UAE Space Agency

The MeznSat, a mini satellite developed through a collaboration between Khalifa University, the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), and the UAE Space Agency, has been successfully launched into space aboard a Soyuz-2b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFrcz5Cp0ij/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

MeznSat is a nanosatellite that weighs around 2.7kg, and measures 10cm x 10cm x 30cm, making it a 3U CubeSat.

A team of KU postgraduate students and AURAK undergraduate students developed the CubeSat. They will monitor, process and analyze the data MeznSat will send to the ground station at KU’s Yahsat laboratory and the supporting ground station at AURAK.

The goal of MeznSat is to provide data on greenhouse gas concentrations, including carbon dioxide and methane, using shortwave infrared spectrometer, in the UAE’s atmosphere. It will also collect data on the red tide phenomenon in the UAE.

The UAS Space Agency confirmed that all preparations for placing the satellite on the launch pad and successfully conducting experiments and final checks regarding the readiness of the satellite were completed in time.

With this launch, MeznSat will join the 10 satellites launched by the UAE to develop national capabilities, enhance scientific research activities, and regulate the activities of the national space sector. The project will also support Emirati young people in developing the skills necessary for the UAE’s ambitious National Space Program and its future projects.

The satellite is scheduled to reach orbit next November, one month after its launch.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFhAekqJVL4/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

The processes and expertise involved in monitoring the atmosphere are similar to those employed during conventional earth observation programs.

Using a visible camera, as well as a shortwave infrared spectrometer, the satellite will measure the abundance and distribution of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

It will also provide valuable insight into the concentration of nutrients in the coastal waters of the Arabian Gulf, which will allow for more accurate predictions of algal blooms and support the timely implementation of relevant precautionary measures.

Erica Solomon
Publication Senior Specialist
29 September 2020

The post UAE’s MeznSat Successfully Launches into Space appeared first on Khalifa University.

To help vehicles navigate their way around the solar system, Dr. Daniel Choi is leading a team to develop a novel micro-electromechanical system gyroscope and magnetometer for a miniaturized space attitude control system

Rough terrain is tricky for anybody to navigate let alone an autonomous vehicle. A human walking across a rough terrain can instinctively adjust movements to stay upright; robots lack this instinctive balance. More than simply staying upright, an unmanned vehicle on a far-flung planet would need to keep its antenna accurately pointed towards Earth for communications; keep its data-collecting instruments precisely pointed for accurate onboard experiments and interpretation; and optimize heating and cooling effects of shadow and sunlight for thermal control.

To help vehicles navigate their way around the solar system, Dr. Daniel Choi, principal investigator and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Ibrahim Elfadel co-investigator and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Khalifa University, are leading a team comprising Dr. Ru Li, Eng. Dima Ali and graduate student, Muneera Al-shaibah, to develop a novel micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) gyroscope and magnetometer for a miniaturized space attitude control system.

An unmanned ground or aerial vehicle needs a robust and reliable system in place to keep it functional once it has left terra firma on Earth. If the robot should need help stabilizing on rocky ground, a planetary mission would be hampered by the communications delay imposed by the enormous distance between earth and space-faring robots. Even at its maximum speed of 5.2 megabits per second (Mbps), message from the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter (MRO) a single high-resolution image takes 90 minutes to be sent back to Earth. If a UGV had to wait for this information every time it encountered a large rock it wasn’t sure how to navigate, it would take an inordinate amount of time for any mission to be completed.

Much of the communication difficulty could be solved if the technology sent into space were autonomous, with the necessary tools designed by teams like the one led by Dr. Choi at Khalifa University.

“This research project is the first to be sponsored by the UAE Space Agency since the agency was established in 2014,” said Dr. Choi. “We started this project in December 2017, aiming to design, fabricate, and characterize a MEMS gyroscope and magnetometer to be used in inertial measurement units (IMU) of space altitude control systems.”

Attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of an vehicle with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity, such as the celestial sphere. In aviation, this is traditionally the Earth’s horizon. Controlling vehicle attitude requires sensors to measure vehicle orientation, actuators to apply the torques needed to orient the vehicle to a desired attitude, and algorithms to command the actuators based on sensor measurements and specification of the desired attitude.

Gyroscopes are devices that measure or maintain rotational motion. When things rotate around an axis, they have angular velocity which is measured in degrees per second or revolutions per second. Angular velocity is simply a measurement of the speed of rotation. MEMS gyroscopes are small, inexpensive sensors that measure this angular velocity. They are found in most autonomous navigation systems: balancing a robot can involve a gyroscope measuring rotation from a balanced position and sending corrections to a motor.

MEMS gyroscopes are used in automotive roll-over prevention and image stabilization as well as many other applications.

One key process in designing a system pertaining to attitude control is the mathematical modelling of the vehicle dynamics and environmental influences. Everything is tested and analyzed under simulated space conditions.

A MEMS gyroscope device includes a vibrating structure which determines the rate of rotation. When the gyroscope is rotated, a small resonating mass is shifted as the angular velocity changes. This movement is converted into very low-current electrical signals that can be amplified and read by a host microcontroller to control a ship’s attitude.

“Our team was able to fully characterize the MEMS gyroscope device by finding its resonance frequency, or frequency of maximum oscillation amplitude,” explained Dr. Choi. “Before testing, intensive simulations were done to find the resonance frequency. This involved actuating the proof or test mass of the device by applying the optimum amount of direct current.”

The simulations showed a frequency at which the gyroscope shows a resonant peak of 47.7 KHz, while testing showed a value of 46.6 KHz. With a percentage error of just 2.2 percent, the team concluded they had successfully tested their design.

“In addition to the MEMS gyroscope, the team has also been testing the MEMS magnetometer,” said Dr. Choi. “The design has been successfully tested for static capacitance and resonance frequency in both ambient and vacuum conditions.”

A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetism—the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. In an aircraft’s attitude and heading reference system, they are commonly used as a heading reference. As magnetometers are miniaturized to be incorporated in integrated circuits, they are finding increasing use as miniaturized compasses. In a MEMS magnetometer, a change in voltage or resonant frequency can be measured electronically.

“We have confidence in our circuit and designs and are currently working on improving and optimizing them for operations,” said Dr. Choi. “The next step is to design and fabricate application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) for implementing these devices in upcoming space missions.”

Jade Sterling
News and Features Writer
23 March 2020

The post Khalifa University’s Novel MEMS Gyroscope and Magnetometer to Help AVs Navigate Rocky Terrain in Space appeared first on Khalifa University.