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New satellite-manufacturing player in town: Emirati defense conglomerate Edge Group launched a new space company named Fada, derived from the Arabic word for space, according to a press release. The company is establishing advanced facilities to develop, assemble and test satellite systems, including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SA
R), Optical (EO) payloads, and satellite cybersecurity. It aims to be a comprehensive provider of space solutions for local and international clients.
The details: Fada will be based in a new Abu Dhabi facility. The facility is currently in its design phase, president of space and cybertech at Edge, Walid Al Mesmari told the National, without disclosing a specific completion date.
Fada will develop the UAE Space Agency’s Sirb constellation — comprising radar imaging satellites — after securing a contract for the project last year, according to the statement. The company plans to complete its first satellite for launch in 2026, in a partnership with geospatial solutions firm Bayanat and Al Yah Satellite Communications (Yahsat) that will see Fada handle development while the partners manage satellite operations and data.
ICYMI- The UAE has ambitious space and satellite-making plans ahead. Last month, Abu Dhabi-based space and deeptech investor and International Holding Company-backed Marlan and US-based startup Loft Orbital set up a joint venture to mass manufacture satellites for the first time in the Middle East. Bayanat and Yahsat also plan to launch eight synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites over the next three years, after launching the UAE’s first low Earth orbit SAR satellite from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base last month.
