Kenya is poised to join an elite club of countries managing a satellite in space according to a Monday, April 2, report by CTGN Africa.
According to the international media channel, the country, through Kenya Space Agency (KSA), will launch its first satellite into space on Tuesday, April 11, with the help of one of the world’s richest men Elon Musk
The satellite used for earth observation will be named Taifa 1, which denotes that it is the first of its kind in the country.
“The earth observation satellite launch will be assisted by SpaceX which will use one of its Falcon 9 rockets to carry the Kenyan satellite into space,” CTGN announced.
KSA also revealed that the satellite was designed to tackle severe drought, wildfires, and natural disasters that have devastating impacts on East Africa Community (EAC).
“Taifa 1 will provide the critical multi-spectral imagery of Kenya needed for applications in agriculture, security, land use/land cover, forestry resources and disaster management to help combat these conditions,” KSA stated about the satellite.
The satellite was developed by KSA with help from Exolaunch, a German provider of global launch, integration, deployment and in-space logistics services and will be taken to the Earth orbit by SpaceX.
SpaceX is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California.
It was founded by Elon Musk in 2002 and at that time, he announced his goal was to find a way to colonise mass.
Falcon 9 rocket which will carry Kenya’s satellite is one of Musk’s greatest inventions.
It is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit.
The milestone comes four months after President William Ruto announced that the country will invest heavily in space technology.
The Head of State announced this during a high-level roundtable at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Management in the US on December 15, 2022.
At the time, the President noted that the government was committed to instituting policies to advance space technology in the country with the help of corporate executives and stakeholders from the US.
