Mohammed VI- B Satellite Successfully Put into Orbit
Morocco’s second high-resolution Earth-observation satellite was successfully launched Wednesday November 21 by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center, in French Guiana (South America).
The Mohammed VI – B Satellite was successfully placed in sun-synchronous orbit by lightweight launcher Vega, after taking off Tuesday from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) Kourou at 01H42 GMT, said Arianespace.
The separation of the satellite took place as planned a little more than 55 minutes after the launcher took off.
The Mohammed VI-B satellite was developed by a consortium comprising Thales Alenia Space and Airbus. It joins the MOHAMMED VI – A satellite, which was orbited by Arianespace on November 7, 2017.
The two satellites are part of an ambitious space program launched by King Mohammed in 2013. They are complementary and will be managed by Moroccan engineers and other technical personnel trained for this purpose.
These civilian satellites will be used for mapping and land surveying, regional development, agricultural monitoring, the prevention and management of natural disasters, monitoring changes in the environment and desertification, and border and coastal surveillance.
The satellites Mohammed VI-A & B will boast Morocco’s capabilities in cadastre and cartography, in mapping the entire country’s territory, carrying out surveys of farmlands, diagnosis of the state of cultivation to optimize farming performances, studying irrigated zones and exploring hydraulic water resources for better management of water in agriculture.
The satellites will also be useful in building, public works, transportation, forest species mapping, mining and geology surveys, geological structure analysis and mine exploration.
The use of space technology will also boost Morocco’s communications, control of road & rail networks, monitoring of major urban projects, land use planning, oceanographic research, natural disasters and security.
The deployment of these satellites, part of the clear-sighted vision of King Mohammed VI seeking to speed up the country’s socioeconomic development, comes after the inauguration of Morocco’s high-speed train, the first in Africa, the world largest solar power plant in Ouarzazate, the launching of construction work in Rabat of the tallest skyscraper in the continent and the major strides accomplished in the car industry and aeronautics.
