THE upcoming first-ever fully Bahraini satellite will be named ‘Al Munther’, announced National Security Adviser, Royal Guard Commander and Supreme Defence Council Secretary General Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

He also unveiled the official logo of the Bahraini space mission, adding that 35 per cent of the satellite project has been completed.

Al Munther translates to ‘the herald or harbinger’ in English and is one of the names used to describe Prophet Muhammad in the Quran.

“This project is a new milestone for Bahrain in the space sector, and towards the goal of using space technology to serve sustainable development efforts in the kingdom,” said Shaikh Nasser.

“Al Munther’s design and construction is currently underway in Bahrain by a fully Bahraini team.

“This project follows the success of the launch of the first satellite Light-1, and aims at optimising national capacity in designing, constructing, testing and operating satellites.

“It will boost scientific research in the areas of space, artificial intelligence, and cyber security in Bahrain.”

Al Munther will provide space data on Bahrain that will be analysed using a number of Bahraini innovations that will be part of the satellite’s load.

The mission of the satellite will include capturing images of the kingdom and its regional waters and collecting data that will feed into “several sectors”, according to the National Space Science Agency.

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