Technology is a significant part of our lives and currently, countries are ranked better than others based on their level of technological development that invariably affects its population.
Face2Face Africa presents Technology and Innovation Tuesday or #TIT series which highlights technological advancements and innovation in Africa every Tuesday. This series also aims to expose the brains behind life-saving innovations produced by Africans.
Our first installment of #TIT looks at the few Sub-Saharan African countries that have sent satellites into space to orbit the earth for research and other purposes.
As of 2018, only nine countries and one inter-governmental organisation in the world have sent objects including satellites into orbit with their own launch vehicles. They include the European Space Agency, Russia, China and the United States.
No African country has launched satellites into space using its own launch vehicles. However, only four countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have satellites orbiting the earth. Three African satellites were launched into orbit in 2017 alone.
Here are the four countries with satellites in space.
South Africa
South Africa has launched a number of satellites into space including its first biggest private satellite in 2017. The country launched its first satellite in 1999.
The most recent nanosatellite called the nSight1 was launched to capture images with its remote sensing camera. Locally built and designed in South Africa, nSight1 is expected to study the largely unexplored lower thermosphere and send information back to earth.
Ghana
Ghana launched its first satellite called GhanaSat1 into space last year. It was developed by university students who took two years to design, assemble and test as part of a Japanese space project.
It was launched from the international space station. It has high and low-resolution cameras to take pictures and provide data of the coastal regions of the country.
Its main mission is to investigate radiation effects on satellite systems in space which are degraded due to the harsh space environment.
Nigeria
Nigeria launched two earth observation satellites into space in 2011 for the monitoring of its weather. The NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X satellites were launched into orbit aboard a Russian Dnepr rocket from Yasny, southern Russia.
Angola
Late last year, Angola joined the three African countries to launch its first national satellite into space after suffering a brief loss of contact two days after take-off from the Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan.
The AngoSat-1 communications satellite cost $300 million and was built in partnership with Russia to aid in improving telecommunication services, telemedicine and other projects. The development of the satellite started since 2009 and it’s expected to have a working life of about 15 years.
This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com
Ismail Akwei 