Kenya to launch first operational satellite

The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) is set to launch its first operational Earth observation satellite "Taifa-1" or "Nation-1" in Swahili, on April 10, 2023.

The launch is in partnership with SpaceX and the satellite will be on board its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Base in California in the USA, the KSA and Kenya's Defense Ministry said in a joint statement.

"The satellite will provide timely and regular satellite data for decision support to agriculture and food security, natural resources management, disaster management, and environmental monitoring, among other applications," the statement added.

Furthermore, the agency said the satellite was fully designed and developed by Kenyan engineers and the testing and manufacturing of the parts were done in collaboration with a Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer.

Data from the 3U Earth observation satellite will complement what is currently available from the open source system within the sector.

"The Taifa-1 satellite mission is an important milestone for Kenya's space program and is expected to contribute significantly to spurring the growth of the satellite development, data analytics and processing, and applications development capabilities of Kenya's budding space economy," the KSA said.

"Space offers the best long-term perspective, knowledge and understanding of what is happening here on Earth and in our immediate environment. Taifa-1 will play a critical role in decision support in several socioeconomic activities," added KSA Director-General Brigadier Hillary Kipkosgey, during a press briefing announcing the launch.

African space race

The satellite launch will contribute to the trend of African nations working toward more scientific innovation and the development of space programs.

The Taifa-1 launch comes as Africa sees many countries and companies either building satellite gateways or acquiring licenses to build and launch satellites on the continent.

In 1998, Egypt was the first African country to send a satellite into space. Kenya, on the other hand, launched its first experimental nano-satellite from the International Space Station in 2018.

KSA Director-General Brigadier Hillary Kipkosgey said that Taifa-1 will play a critical role in supporting socioeconomic activities in Kenya.
(Source: Kenya Space Agency)

According to Space in Africa, as of 2022, at least 13 African countries had manufactured 48 satellites and 50 African satellites have been launched.

In November 2022, Global telecoms and satellite provider OneWeb grew its presence in Africa, announcing three partnership deals with Airtel Africa, Q-KON Africa as well as Paratus Group in Angola.

Firstly, OneWeb signed a distribution partnership with Airtel Africa to deliver high-speed, low-latency low-Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity services to government and enterprise customers across wide swathes of the continent.

Secondly, it announced a multi-year agreement deal with Paratus Group in Angola to build a satellite gateway in the capital Luanda.

In December 2022, the first two SES O3b mPOWER satellites were successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The O3b mPOWER will help SES address current and future connectivity needs for governments, mobile network operators, energy companies, cruises and enterprises across the globe and in Africa.

In January 2023, the Djibouti government signed a $1 billion agreement with the Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group (HKATG) to develop an international commercial spaceport in the northern Obock Region of Djibouti.

In the same month, Starlink announced that its services had gone live in Nigeria, making it the first country in Africa to launch Starlink's satellite Internet.

In February 2023, Dimension Data subsidiary, Internet Solutions (IS), announced it was expanding its partnership with Q-KON Africa to bring the OneWeb LEO satellite service to the Mozambican market.

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*Top image source: Image by bingzhenzhen from Pixabay.

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa