The National Space Science Agency recently celebrated the graduation of the Bahrain Space Team member, Amina Al Balushi, after completing her educational and training program and obtaining a master’s degree in systems management and engineering with a specialization in space science and technology from Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates. Her thesis focused on risk management in space projects. The training program provided Space Eng. Amina Al Balushi the opportunity to participate in building and designing several satellites, one of which is the “DhabiSat” satellite, which was launched into space in February 2021.

On this occasion, Dr. Mohamed Ebrahim Al-Aseeri, the CEO of the National Space Science Agency, said: The agency is proud of its young competencies, and we are happy with the experiences and achievements that the members of the Bahrain Space Team have achieved to contribute to the fulfilment of the vision of His Majesty the King, may God protect him, to place Bahrain in the ranks of the leading countries in the space sector. All these accomplishments would not have been possible without the constant interest and support given by the wise leadership of the agency and its members, which places the agency in a great responsibility to provide everything possible to support the sustainable development in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Space Eng. Amina Al-Balushi said: First of all, I would like to thank the National Space Sciences Agency for its continuous support and appreciation of the efforts of the team members, overcoming all difficulties for us, and giving us the opportunity to innovate in various fields. My approach to risk management has received support and appreciation from the agency since the beginning. As this specialization is one of the main pillars in the success of space missions, and the experience I have gained in risk management will contribute to building a tight risk management policy for future projects of the National Space Science Agency in terms of design, construction and operation of space missions, which will positively affect their success rate. It is worth noting that risk management is one of the basic processes in building satellites, which contributes to increasing the success rate of missions, as the nature of the harsh space environment makes satellites vulnerable to many risks that vary in severity, and sometimes cause the mission to fail if not addressed. Here comes the importance of the risk management process in developing a fitted plan that assesses the risks and measures the extent of their impact on the condition and safety of satellite systems. Thus, drawing a clear practical plan to confront the risks with the lowest costs. After launching the satellite, the ground team loses physical contact with the satellite, and therefore all risks must be taken into account from the design stage to allow them to control the satellite after any of these hazards occur.