Senegal to launch first satellite, Cameroon plans space program

Africa's space development has been making strides in recent times, with Senegal and Cameroon now having space projects at advanced stages.

Senegal's government and Centre Spatial Universitaire de Montpellier (CSUM) have partnered with digital platform RIDE Space to launch the country's first satellite, GAINDESAT.

The country's Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation (MESRI) announced that the satellite would be delivered on November 10, 2023, with the launch date to be announced at a later stage.

GAINDESAT will be integrated into orbital transfer vehicle, Vigoride, which is supplied by Momentus, a company that offers space infrastructure and transportation services.

The satellite will collect data, and support various initiatives including firefighting, flood management, erosion control and agricultural development.

In 2019, Senegal set a two-year deadline for the construction and launch of its first satellite; however, that launch was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Space In Africa, Senegal's Space Project (SENSAT) coordinator Dr Gayane Faye expressed how the country had been working for the past three years to prepare for the launch.

Cameroon gets ready to launch its space program

Meanwhile, Central African nation Cameroon has selected a consortium of technical consulting firms to conduct an in-depth technical feasibility study into its plans to launch a space program.

The country's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications hired consulting firms Euroconsult, Integc Sarl and Digiglobe to investigate the institutional and regulatory approach in the deployment of a space program.

"Given Cameroon's numerous assets as a Central African leader, its conquest of the space sector will create a new market and boost innovation and research in many related fields such as big data, astronomy, artificial intelligence, robotics, and so on," Cameroon's Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li, told ITWeb Africa.

"This area will encourage entrepreneurship, the development of various agricultural solutions, natural disaster management, regional planning, and so on," the minister continued.

Africa's space ecosystem

Senegal's satellite launch and Cameroon's upcoming space program are contributing to the trend of African nations working toward more scientific innovation and the development of space programs.

Africa has seen many countries and companies either launching satellite gateways or acquiring licenses to build satellites on the continent.

Kenya Space Agency (KSA) launched its first operational Earth observation satellite Taifa-1, meaning Nation-1 in Swahili, in April 2023.

Senegal's satellite launch and Cameroon's upcoming space program are contributing to the trend of African nations having similar projects. (Source: Image By Sketchepedia).

That launch was in partnership with SpaceX, and the satellite was on board its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Base in California in the USA.

In May 2023, Côte d'Ivoire announced that it would launch its first observation satellite, the Yam-Sat CI 01 by August 2024.

In January 2023, the Djibouti government signed a US$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 November 2022, Global telecoms and satellite provider OneWeb grew its presence in Africa, announcing three partnership deals on the continent.

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.

Thirdly, OneWeb signed a five-year agreement with Q-KON Africa to distribute LEO satellite connectivity services in Africa.

In December 2022, Satellite telecommunications company SES launched two SES O3b mPOWER satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Florida, which aim to help address connectivity needs across the globe and in Africa.

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Space In Africa reported that as of June 2023, African nations had invested $4.71 billion to manufacture and launch satellites.

Furthermore, that expenditure has resulted in the launch of 58 satellites of which 15 countries across four regions manufactured 55.

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*Top image source: Image by bingzhenzhen from Pixabay.

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa