The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), announced today that the first Saudi satellite for communications (SGS-1) launched successfully from the Guiana Space Centre on an Ariane 5 rocket. HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had signed the final piece to be placed on the Saudi satellite before its launch with the words “above the clouds.”, in reference to a popular Saudi national song. 

Eng. Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the board of directors of KACST, explained that such an achievement is a result of the great support provided to the Kingdom’s research and development sector by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, and HRH the Crown Prince. The launch is part of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims at localizing strategic technologies in the Kingdom, increasing local content and enabling Saudi youth to work with advanced, state-of-the-art technologies in the field of satellite development and manufacturing.

Richard Edwards, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin International lauded his company’s strategic partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “The successful launch of this satellite is a first step in our unique partnership with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is established on innovation, science, technology and HR development”, he said. 

The Saudi communications satellite (SGS-1), which is the first satellite of its kind to be owned by the Kingdom, will offer multiple applications that include broadband telecommunications, highly secured communications, as well as communications dedicated for remote areas and disaster-stricken areas. 

Finally, the SGS-1 satellite, which will be operated and controlled from ground stations based in Saudi Arabia, will serve and support the basic infrastructure of the telecommunications sector in the Kingdom.