Africa has entered the space race, with Ghana's first satellite now orbiting earth
The GhanaSat-1―Ghana’s 1st satellite―began its orbit recently, with alittle facilitate from some friends.
The cubesat, engineered by a African nation engineering team in any respect Nations University, was delivered to NASA’s International artificial satellite in June on a houseX rocket that took aloof from pad 39a at Kennedy Space Center, a independent agency interpreter confirmed.
The GhanaSat-1 deployed into orbit from the middle in Gregorian calendar month, and is currently operational, consistent with project manager Richard Damoah, a African nation prof and assistant analysis man of science at independent agency.
“This explicit satellite has 2 missions,” Damoah told TechCrunch. “It has cameras on board for elaborate observance of the coastlines of African country. Then there’s an academic piece―we wish to use it to integrate satellite technology into highschool syllabus,” he said.
GhanaSat-1 can send an indication to a ground station in any respect Nations University’s house Systems and Technology Laboratory. That’s wherever it had been developed by a team of engineers that enclosed Benjamin Bonsu, Ernest Teye pally, and Joseph Quansah.
While Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo applauded the launch and congratulated the team directly, the project failed to receive official African nation government support, consistent with Damoah. Instead, Japan’s national house agency, JAXA, provided the majority of the resources and coaching to develop the satellite.
The GhanaSat-1 preparation marks enhanced interest and activity in continent toward house exploration. Nigeria’s 1st cubesat launched on an equivalent SpaceX mission. “Several nations, like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia have house agencies. African country proclaimed its intention to launch a satellite over the approaching year,” aforementioned Elsie Kanza, Head of continent at the planet Economic Forum.
She additionally pointed to Pan-African efforts to coordinate house efforts, like the African Union’s African house Policy ANd Strategy initiative―adopted last year―that prompted AU members states “to notice an African location Programme, in concert of the flagship programmes….of the AU Agenda.”
Damoah believes the GhanaSat-1 preparation may prompt African nation government resources toward a second satellite project coordinated by All Nations University and also the country’s Science house and Technology Center. “After this launch, we have a tendency to currently have the support of the president and cupboard support,” he said. “We area unit trying to develop a GhanaSat-2, with high resolution cameras, that would monitor things like outlawed mining, water use, and deforestation within the country.”