Following the imposition of Western sanctions last year, many contracts for launching foreign spacecraft using Russian rockets were terminated. Nevertheless, Roscosmos continues to provide launch services to customers from friendly countries. One of these is the UAE, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre has already announced that it will launch its spacecraft using a Russian Soyuz-2 launch vehicle.
«On June 27 at 15:34 UAE time [14:34 Moscow time] MBRSC will launch its first PHI-Demo mission from the Russian Vostochny Cosmodrome using a Soyuz-2 rocket as part of the Payload Hosting Initiative,» – the Dubai government said.
The satellite, which is planned to be put into orbit using a Russian rocket, is designed to provide communication for IoT systems. It was developed by local startup OQ Technology as part of the Space Ventures initiative of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre. It will allow storing and transmitting data collected from devices connected to the Internet. Interestingly, the satellite also integrates a propulsion subsystem that uses water as fuel. It was developed by British SteamJet.