KUWAIT: The first Kuwaiti satellite team members (KuwaitSat-1) embarked on a scientific trip to the US. The team visited the US space research centers with the aim of enhancing their expertise and enriching their knowledge in the field of space research and projects. The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) said that its support for this scientific trip to the University of Colorado is characterized by a long experience in the field of space, spanning about 70 years.
It is part of KFAS’s tireless efforts, which are aimed at placing Kuwait among the leading countries in the space sector and building national capabilities capable of designing, managing, and operating space projects. The team visited the University of Colorado Boulder Center for Environmental Technology (CET), which is one of the world's leading bodies in the field of environmental research and innovation and provides technological solutions to the most important global challenges in the field of remote sensing, in order to study and analyze environmental phenomena.
"The scientific trip also included a visit to the Aerospace Physics Laboratory (LASP), a pioneer in the field of space exploration and aerospace research. Its activities include four main topics: planetary exploration and astronomy, the Earth's atmosphere and climate, solar influences, and satellite tools and development," KFAS added. The Kuwaiti team also visited the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which was established in the 1960s and plays an important role in research in atmospheric science and the Earth system.
Its main areas of work include climate modeling, atmospheric chemistry, cloud physics, and solar-terrestrial interactions, and it develops advanced techniques to predict weather using computer modeling to understand climate change. The Kuwait team also visited the Ann & HJ Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, which is one of the leading institutions in the fields of space education and research, aircraft, and spacecraft design and is famous for graduating a large number of space engineers.
The Foundation explained that the team's tour included a visit to the Colorado Space Grants Association (COSGC). Later, they went to the University of Colorado's Black Swift Technologies, which is famous for its advanced drone systems that are specifically designed to conduct scientific research in some of the most difficult weather conditions on the planet and their applications in monitoring natural disasters, pollution, and environmental phenomena. The scientific trip was concluded with a visit to Orbital Micro Systems, a subsidiary of the University of Colorado, which specializes in remote sensing systems for satellites.