The UAE is planning to launch a locally-developed navigation satellite next year, followed by a more advanced version in 2022.
According to national news agency WAM, it will be funded by the UAE Space Agency, and will be the first project to be carried out by the new Satellite Assembly, Integration and Testing Centre (AIT) in Al Ain.
The initiative's main aim is to enhance local research and design capabilities, and is not meant to replace any existing global systems.
"We try to select a certain technology, design and develop the satellite and payload here and will own the intellectual property rights," Dr. Khaled Al Hashmi, Director of the National Space Science and Technology Centre (NSSTC) at UAE University, told WAM.
"And if we are successful, the project can be expanded further," he added.
Navigation satellites offering positioning signals for car navigation systems and smartphones; and also play a key role in aviation and disaster management.
The UAE’s National Ambulance Service handled 22,903 cases across the country in the first quarter of this year, according to the National Guard Command.
H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Umm Al Qaiwain, received condolences on the passing of his mother, the late Sheikha Hessa bint Hamid bin Abdulrahman Al Shamsi, at the condolence majlis held at the Emiri Court.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received well-wishers on Monday at Zaabil Majlis on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals' State Security Chamber has convicted the defendants of the kidnapping and murder of Moldovan-Israeli citizen Zvi Kogan. Three defendants have been sentenced to death, and the fourth to life imprisonment, for the premeditated murder with terrorist intention.