According to the head of the Space Research Laboratory at the Egyptian National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), Prof. Dr Rasha Mohamed-Fathy Ghoneim, Egypt, in collaboration with China, is planning to construct the second-largest global monitoring station. This facility will utilise laser beams to track satellites and space debris in outer space.
Furthermore, the construction process has commenced to install the station’s dome, which will house two telescopes. Egypt will receive the first telescope with a diameter of 120 cm from China dedicated to tracking space debris within a month and a half. The second telescope, with a 70 cm, dedicated to monitoring space debris and satellites, is expected to be dispatched in August.
In addition, It is projected that the dome will be completed within two months, after which another dome will be constructed at the station. Subsequently, a Chinese delegation comprising experts will be available to train the Egyptian engineers and technicians for operating the station. The training is scheduled to occur during the trial operation phase, set to begin within two months.
The announcement follows the 2022 mission statement released by the NRIAG’s President, Prof. Dr Gad Mohamed El-Qady, detailing the nation’s plan to build and launch a land-based station for tracking artificial satellites and space debris.
