Light 1 CubeSat the first ever Nano satellite launched by Kingdom of Bahrain

Light 1

CubeSat the first ever Nano satellite launched

by Kingdom of Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain today successfully launched its first satellite, “Light-1”, which will monitor and study terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGRs) from thunderstorms and cumulus clouds, named after HM the King’s “First Light” book, Light-1 is the outcome of the ongoing cooperation between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in space science, technology and engineering.

Light-1 took off in December 2021, at 13:00 Bahraini time, onboard a SpaceX CRS-24 flight on board of a Falcon 9 rocket, heading towards the International Space Station (ISS). It was placed on its orbit at an altitude of 400 km and an inclination angle of 51.6◦, adding that it will be re-launched into orbit around Earth during the first quarter of 2022 from the Japanese Experiment Module (KIBO) in the ISS.

Light-1 is a nanosatellite that will monitor and study terrestrial gamma ray flashes by developing and building two payload detectors, using a combination of two different photo sensor technologies and scintillating crystals, which reflects Bahrain’s contributions to the international efforts to measure these rays and study their effects on the safety of aircraft structures and the safety of passengers.

Light-1 will communicate data with three ground stations, namely the ground station in the Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, Vilnius in Lithuania, and Aalborg in Denmark.

Bahrain's first-ever satellite has been launched into orbit from the International Space Station in February 3,2022, after having arrived at the ISS at the end of 2021.

Light-1 was launched in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from the Japanese section of the ISS alongside another satellite designed to detect terrestrial gamma rays. The Light-1 satellite a joint project between Bahrains National Space Science Agency (NSSA), UAE Space Agency, Khalifa University and New York University Abu Dhabi will be used to conduct research during lightning storms, that will help civil aviation safety experts in future.

JAXA coordinated the launch from the Tsukuba Space Centre (TKSC) in Japan, and the event was broadcast live on social media channels. It was also live-streamed on Bahrains NSSA National TV and JAXA.The team that worked on the design and development of Light-1 bus consists of 22 university students from Khalifa University including nine Bahrainis, 10 Emiratis, and three international students, advised by Dr Firas Jarrar, Manager, Yahsat Space Lab, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering.

The NYU Abu Dhabi team of five Emirati students and five international students, who worked on the development of the payload called Rapid Acquisition Atmospheric Detector (RAAD Arabic for thunder), was advised by Dr Francesco Arneodo, Programme Head of Physics, and Dr Mallory Roberts, Professor of Physics.

NYU Abu Dhabi takes pride in its diversity and academic excellence, and with the launch of the Light-1 CubeSat into its orbit from ISS is the perfect manifestation of these values: key entities and experts in the field have come together from different countries and backgrounds to achieve one common, inspiring goal. We hope that the satellite will provide new data on terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, and that scientists and people around the world will benefit from them."

The Importance of Light 1:

"Light 1" is a first step towards achieving a greater national ambition of placing the Kingdom of Bahrain among the leading countries in the space sector and it is the fruitful outcome of cooperation between the Bahrain’s NSSA, the United Arab Emirates Space Agency, the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research and New York University Abu Dhabi, and was provided by Nano Avionics, a Lithuania-based space-tech company, which has extensive experience in designing and building more than 90 nano-satellites for more than 40 countries.

The launch of the "Light-1" satellite confirms the support enjoyed by youth Bahraini competencies from the kingdom’s leadership in order to acquire science and knowledge, adding that Bahrainis contributed 75% to the joint satellite. This project reflects Bahraini competencies’ tireless efforts to raise the national flag in many fields, noting that Bahrain’s space team consists of a group of youth national cadres specialized in advanced technology, such as electrical and mechanical engineering, communication, electronics and programming.

The Light-1 CubeSat represents the regions first scientific mission to monitor and study Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) from thunderstorms and lightning. Data gathered from the Light-1 CubeSat, which aims to leverage space science to support sustainable economic growth, will be shared globally to support scientific analysis and encourage cooperation with research centers around the world.

What is a Nanosatellite?

Nanosatellites are loosely defined as any satellite weighing less than 10 kilograms. CubeSats must also comply with a series of specific criteria that control factors such as their shape, size and weight.

CubeSats can come in various sizes, but they are all based on the standard CubeSat unit, namely a cube-shaped structure measuring 10x10x10 centimeters with a mass of somewhere between 1 and 1.33 kg. This unit is known as 1U. After the first few years, this modular unit was multiplied and larger nanosatellites are now common (1.5U, 2U, 3U or 6U). Today, new configurations are under development.

Nanosatellite development based on CubeSat standards guarantees ongoing and relatively inexpensive access to space, as well as a wide range of launch and space rocket options.

CubeSat standardization opens up the possibility of using commercial electronic parts and the choice of numerous technology suppliers, thereby considerably cutting the costs of CubeSat engineering and development projects in comparison with other types of satellites.