Bahrain Establishes Space Agency

On Tuesday, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa issued a decree establishing the "Bahrain Space Agency."

The agency will operate under the Bahraini Supreme Defense Council, according to Decree No. (14) of 2025, which was issued based on a proposal from the Prime Minister and approval by the Cabinet.

Bahrain announced the successful launch of its first satellite, "Al-Munther," into its designated orbit aboard SpaceX's "Falcon 9" rocket. 

The launch took place as part of the "Transporter-13" mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The satellite successfully separated from the rocket and reached its sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 550 kilometers above sea level, marking the beginning of its orbital testing phase to ensure full operational readiness.

Project Manager Aisha Al-Harm stated that "Al-Munther" is equipped with cybersecurity technologies to protect its data. 

The satellite was developed over two years by a team of young Bahraini engineers. She also highlighted that it is a nanosatellite with onboard artificial intelligence capabilities for real-time space image analysis.