Saudi satellite ‘Shaheen Sat’ launches on Russian Soyuz rocket

Saudi Arabia’s locally made satellites “Shaheen Sat” was launched on Monday along with several others from 18 different countries aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket.

Shaheen Sat – one of the two designed and made in Saudi Arabia – will be used for photography and maritime tracking purposes.

Rocket Soyuz is carrying 38 foreign satellites in total, including those of Germany, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Italy and Brazil. Among them are the Challenge-1, the first satellite made completely in Tunisia.

The initial launch was originally scheduled for 0607 GMT on Saturday but was later postponed to Monday. The delay was caused after a surge in voltage was detected.