Fez University to Manufacture Morocco’s 1st Nanosatellite

Rabat – Morocco will launch its first nationally made nanosatellite at the end of 2019. The nanosatellite will weigh just 960 grams and will be manufactured by a group of students from Dhar El Mahraz University in Fez.

The team works under the supervision of professor Mohamed Karim, director of Systems Integration and Advanced Technologies Laboratory.

The University of Oujda and Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane also contributed to the project.

Morocco World News contacted the professor to learn more about the project, but did not receive a response.

Read also: German Thyssenkrupp Aerospace Opens Center in Morocco

Some local media outlets, however, reported that the project would be completed by the end of 2018, while others reported 2019.

The first Moroccan-made satellite is a simple cube with a volume of 10 Cubic centimeters and 960 grams. The two previously launched satellites weighed 1,100 kilograms each.

The Ministry of Higher Education allocated MAD 108,023 to finance the project.

The nanosatellite will have 1 watt of power, and a lifetime between 6 months and 2 years. It will also includes a camera and will be on an altitude of 650 kilometers.

The cube-shaped satellite will have 5 faces covered with a solar plates. The 6th face will carry the transceiver antenna allowing communication with two ground stations in Fez and Ifrane.

Its typical mission will either be to observe and measure the terrestrial environment, or to test new technologies in space.

Read also: Morocco’s 2nd Surveillance Satellite, Mohammed VI-B, Launches into Orbit

On November 21 at exactly 2:42 AM (gmt+1), Morocco launched the second surveillance satellite, Mohammed VI B. It is used mainly for civil purposes including mapping, agricultural monitoring, natural disaster management, as well as border and coastal surveillance.

The satellite is capable of turning around the Earth in just 1 hour and 40 minutes, with a lifetime between 15 and 30 years.