Falling launch costs have given African nations a chance to send their own satellites into orbit.
One by one, the satellites – each of them encrusted with a hodge-podge of solar panels and other gizmos – detached from their mothership.
and, along with Senegal, both Djibouti and Zimbabwe have also watched their first satellites become operational during the past 12 months. Dozens more African satellites are expected to go into orbit in the coming years.Plus, powerful countries elsewhere in the world are arguably using nascent African space programmes as a means of building relationships and asserting their geopolitical dominance more broadly.“It’s important for African countries to have their own satellites,” says Mr Sumah.
For Sarah Kimani, of the Kenyan Meteorological Department, satellites have proved invaluable in helping her and her colleagues track dangerous weather conditions. She recalls using earth observation, a European satellite agency, to monitor a major dust storm in March. “We were able to tell the direction of this dust storm,” she says.
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 meteorological spacecraft in the future. As would other African countries in general. “Only Africa understands her own needs,” says Ms Kimani.
Observers have suggested that African space programmes are not just about getting African nations into space – they are also, to some extent, arenas where some of the world’s mostMr Sumah is positive about the situation. “We can… play these different powers against each other to get the best deals,” he says.
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