Khalifa University’s initiatives in designing and constructing CubeSats for technology demonstration show a significant leap in advancing space capabilities. The ongoing project involves a 6U CubeSat destined for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at YahSat space lab. This research primarily focuses on designing, testing, and developing a flight model reaction wheel for integration into the current 6U CubeSat mission at Khalifa University. The design phase involves careful analysis of key factors, such as flywheel design and motor selection from low-cost commercial of the shelf motors, with a primary focus on reducing the weight and size while maintaining optimal performance. Furthermore, a thorough modelling, simulation, and analysis of the reaction wheel are presented, using a Proportional Integral (PI) controller to illustrate the performance of the selected Brushless DC motor under flywheel loading conditions. The results showed that the reaction wheel performs within the expected behaviour proving the compatibility of the flywheel geometric properties at the operational speed and torque limits. Furthermore, the paper presents a miniaturized flight model reaction wheel with only 33mm in diameter, weighing under 38g, and capable of generating a maximum torque of 1.72mNm while storing 1.32mNms of angular momentum. At the hardware level, the reaction wheel is integrated with a PI controller circuit, initially tuned using a trial-and-error method. To validate the simulation study, functional tests were conducted, and the results are illustrated for comparison to show the performance of the reaction wheel at different operational modes considering all physical factors including friction and vibrations. The in-house development of the reaction wheel contributes to the space heritage of the United Arab Emirates in space systems technology.