Post by Ahmed AlMenhali, PMP

This month, we held the Critical Design Review (CDR) of Al Yah 4 (AY4) and Al Yah 5 (AY5), Space42’s next-generation geostationary multi-band communications satellites with fully flexible and software-defined payloads. Just like the successful Thuraya 4 (T4) satellite, AY4 and AY5 are designed and will be manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space, renowned for its reliable and state-of-the-art products. These twin satellites, although not identical, will transform Space42’s vision into reality and support two of its four strategic core pillars: - Becoming a global leader in Non-Terrestrial Connectivity - Becoming a trusted leader in secure connectivity solutions Based on my experience with T4, the CDR is the most important review of a satellite program. It marks the transition from design to manufacturing, finalizes all technical decisions, assesses the spacecraft’s performance through extensive analyses, and aligns all stakeholders on the baseline plan for integration and testing. At the CDR, Space42 was represented by a cross-functional team of just 14 members only, a team that proved strength is defined by the competencies of its members rather than their number. In the weeks leading up to the review, the multidisciplinary team reviewed hundreds of documents on top of their heavy workload while maintaining exceptional quality of work; and they didn’t disappoint. The meeting itself spanned 60 hours over six days, and this was only the first part of the CDR, through which the team remained focused and engaged throughout. Our journey with AY4 and AY5 is far from over, but I couldn’t help but feel proud of this successful milestone, the outstanding performance of our team, and tremendous contributions of Airbus. Adnan Al Mheiri | Rashed Al Hammadi | Ibrahim Alhammadi | Abdulla Alabri | Ali Bani Malek | Suood Alnaqbi | Abdulla Bamatraf | Christian GARDERES | Mark Lumley | Joseph Fowler, | Etienne Lebreton | Mohammed Mizab | Gaëtan BERTEL #Space42 #Airbus #CDR #AY4 #AY5 #Geostationary #AlYah #Thuraya #T4 #Satellite #Spacecraft #System #Leader #Teamwork #Space #Milestone #Connectivity #Management