Joint remote-sensing satellite for GCC to be launched by end of year

Dubai: The UAE's Defence Ministry has a project to launch a joint satellite with GCC countries soon, a senior official said on Monday.Brigadier Khalifa Mohammad Al Rumaithi, Chief of Military Works at the Armed Forces, did not elaborate on the issue, but told Gulf News the project of the joint remote-sensing satellite has come a long way.He also pointed out Dubai sat1 will be launched by the end of this year for peaceful purposes and civil applications.Dubai sat1 will provide data for infrastructure development, rural and urban development planning, management of natural disasters and provision of accurate maps.ConferenceBrigadier Al Rumaithi was addressing a gathering on the first day of the region's first and only focused Defence Geospatial Intelligence conference, which took place yesterday with participation of more than 20 countries and a number of international experts leading the world's most active organisations in the field.Responding to a query on privacy in light of satellites, Brigadier Al Rumaithi said: "Many countries have the privacy law regarding satellites but this region lacks that law."Speakers on the first day of the conference highlighted a number of issues such as, the importance of intelligence in a 21st century environment and giving situational awareness to the front-line.The conference also highlighted a case study on integration of geospatial intelligence in support of Canada's international and national security objectives.Source : http://www.gulfnews.com/