DUBAI, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Monday called the day "historic" for the Gulf state after KhalifaSAT, UAE's first locally made satellite, was successfully launched from Japan.
The UAE head of government called the launch of KhalifaSAT by a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-2A rocket "a national station where the UAE people have proven their ability, and maturity, their knowledge and their ambition, which they are racing around the world."
The Monday launch was aired live by several UAE TV stations and through the website of the official Dubai media office.
The satellite was successfully brought to its pre-programmed flight path in orbit, said the Dubai media office in a tweet.
The 330-kilogram-heavy KhalifaSAT, with two-meter-height and 1.5-meter-width, was designed and built by 70 Emirati engineers at Mohamed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai. The device will be used to picture the earth and produce razor-sharp images at minimum 70-centimeter-length.
KhalifaSAT, named after UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, will be defunct after five years.
By 2021, the UAE aims to lift its space program to the next level by launching a Mars mission.
By 2117, the UAE plans to establish the first human city on the Red Planet.
