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Senegal's first satellite took off on a SpaceX launcher in August
One by one, the satellites – each encrusted with a hodgepodge of solar panels and other gadgets – broke away from their mothership.
They had taken off from Earth an hour earlier, on August 16. The 116 satellites aboard the launcher were mostly designed and built by Western countries and companies – but one was different.
It is the first spacecraft of its type ever developed by the African country of Senegal.
A small CubeSat called GaindeSAT-1A, it will provide Earth observation and telecommunications services. The Senegalese president called this a big step towards “technological sovereignty”.
The cost of launching a satellite has fallen significantly in recent years, says Kwaku Sumah, founder and managing director of Spacehubs Africa, a space consultancy.
“This cost reduction has opened up the market,” he adds. “These small nations…now have the opportunity to get involved. »
Kwaku Sumah
Falling space launch costs have given African countries an opportunity, says Kwaku Sumah
To date, a total of 17 African countries have put more than 60 satellites into orbit and, alongside Senegal, Djibouti and Zimbabwe have also seen their first satellites become operational in the past 12 months. Dozens of additional African satellites are expected to be put into orbit in the coming years.
And yet the continent currently has no space launch facility of its own.
Additionally, powerful countries elsewhere in the world are arguably using Africa's nascent space programs as a way to build relationships and assert their geopolitical dominance more broadly.
Can more African countries chart their own path to orbit – and beyond?
“It is important that African countries have their own satellites,” says Sumah. He says this means better control of technology and easier access to satellite data.
This information could help Africans monitor crops, detect threats posed by extreme weather such as flooding or improve telecommunications in remote areas, he adds.
But boldly going into space is still considered “something for the elite” in Africa, says Jessie Ndaba, co-founder and chief executive of Astrofica Technologies, a South African space technology company that designs satellites. Her company’s business overall remains “very slow,” she adds.
Given the massive threat climate change poses to the continent, space technologies should be used to monitor food and resources, she suggests. On the other hand, an African space race to reach the Moon or Mars would not help: “We need to look at the challenges we face in Africa and find ways to solve them. »
For Sarah Kimani of the Kenya Meteorological Department, satellites have proven invaluable in helping her and her colleagues track dangerous weather conditions. She remembers using Earth observation data provided by Eumetsat, a European satellite agency, to monitor a major dust storm in March. “We were able to determine the direction of this dust storm,” she says.
Later this year, she and her colleagues will begin receiving data from the latest generation of the Eumetsat spacecraft, which will provide tools for monitoring wildfires and lightning, among other benefits. “This will help us improve our early warning systems,” adds Ms Kimani, stressing that the collaboration with Eumetsat has been “very effective and efficient”.
Climate change brings weather threats that can emerge quickly – from major storms to extreme droughts. “The intensity of these dangers… is changing,” says Kimani, noting that satellite data that could be updated every five minutes or less would help meteorologists track such phenomena. .
She also argues that Kenya – which put its first operational Earth observation satellite into orbit last year – would benefit from having more of its own weather spacecraft in the future. As would other African countries in general. “Only Africa understands its own needs,” says Ms. Kimani.
Sarah Kimani
Kenya would benefit from having more of its own satellites, says Sarah Kimani
Currently, many African countries with fledgling space programs rely on foreign technology and experts, says Temidayo Oniosun, managing director of Space in Africa, a market research and consulting firm.
Some countries have sent students and engineers abroad to acquire know-how in space technology. “The problem is that when these guys come back, there is no laboratory or facilities for them,” Mr. Oniosun said.
Senegal's new satellite was built by Senegalese technicians. Without wishing to detract from their significant achievement, it is worth noting that the development of the satellite was made possible through a partnership with a French university and that the spacecraft was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California.
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Europe, China and the United States have all been involved in many African space programs. This certainly helped put African technology into orbit, but it also served as “an essential diplomatic tool,” says Oniosun. This makes him “a little worried,” he admits.
Observers have suggested that African space programs are not just about getting African countries into space – they are also, to some extent, arenas where some of the world's most powerful countries compete.
Mr Sumah is optimistic about the situation. “We can… pit these different powers against each other to get the best deals,” he said.
U.S. and Chinese officials have considered the “strategic” implications of their involvement in African space efforts, says Julie Klinger of the University of Delaware.
“This leads to a growing need to update global treaties and strategies aimed at maintaining a peaceful and manageable space environment,” she adds.
But there are also opportunities. Dr Klinger notes that space launches from equatorial regions – which might not require as much fuel – could mean that African spaceports have an important role to play in the decades to come.
The Luigi Broglio Space Center, a former Italian-built spaceport including a maritime platform off the coast of Kenya, could for example be returned to service one day. The last launches took place there in the 1980s.
Ultimately, we can expect increasing activity in space from African countries. “We have almost 80 satellites under development,” says Mr. Oniosun. “I think the future of the industry is very bright.”
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