Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye declared late Friday that the country has successfully launched its first satellite, GAINDESAT-1A, into space.
According to Faye’s X post, the satellite was launched on Friday at 18:56 GMT from the Vandenberg station in California.
President Faye stated, “This advance marks a major step towards our technological sovereignty. It results from five years of hard work by our engineers and technicians.”
He continued, “I would like to express my gratitude and pride to everyone who helped make this project possible.”
According to the country’s official TV, RTS, the GAINDESAT-1A was created by Senegalese engineers in association with the French Montpellier University Space Centre (CSUM).
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Two Senegal governmental bodies, the National Civil Aviation and Meteorology Agency and the Directorate for Water Resources Management and Planning, would benefit significantly from the satellite’s critical data collection, which was carried out on a Falcon 9 rocket.
Africa’s involvement in space technology
In recent years, more African countries have launched their satellites into space.
Early this year, on February 3, 2024, the Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) successfully launched NExSat-1, an experimental satellite, utilising China’s Jielong-3 orbital launch vehicle. Following launch, the 67-kilogramme microsatellite NExSat-1 received its first signals, verifying that it was operational.
The satellite, which was created in association with Berlin Space Technologies (BST) in Germany, is intended for use in remote sensing.
The highlights of satellites launched by African countries last year alone are as follows:
On April 15, 2023, Kenya launched Taifa-1, its first satellite, for environmental monitoring and earth observation. On June 24, 2023, Nigeria launched two satellites for communication, navigation, and earth observation: Nigerian Satellite-2 (NIGCOMSAT-2) and Nigerian Satellite-3 (NIGCOMSAT-3). On January 13, 2023, South Africa launched the three satellites that make up the MDASat-1 constellation for maritime monitoring and surveillance.
On February 21, 2023, Egypt launched the EgyptSat-2 satellite for remote sensing, earth observation, and disaster monitoring. On June 24, 2023, Ghana launched the GhanaSat-2 satellite for technology demonstration, environmental monitoring, and earth observation. On November 8, 2023, Morocco launched the Mohammed VI-A satellite for environmental monitoring, mapping, and earth observation.
These launches show how Africa is becoming increasingly involved in space technology, improving the continent’s capacity for communication, navigation, earth observation, and scientific research.
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More satellites to be launched
Over the next few years, the continent plans to increase the number of satellites sent into Earth’s orbit.
These heavenly messengers, which range from the northern regions of Egypt to the southernmost point of South Africa, are essential for monitoring agricultural patterns, tracking climate change, improving weather forecasting, and creating opportunities for research and teaching.
As activity in the continent’s space sector heats up dramatically, 23 African countries have committed to developing 125 new satellites by 2025, according to the Africa Space Industry Annual Report.
The African space business, estimated to be worth $19.49 billion in 2021, is expected to expand by 16.16% to $22.64 billion by 2026, while the worldwide space economy is estimated to be worth $469 billion.
According to Space Hubs Africa, a consultancy organisation, the continent has launched over 60 satellites successfully to date.
Egypt currently has the highest number of satellites, with 14, followed by South Africa with 13, Morocco with 8, Nigeria with 7, Algeria with 6, Ghana with 3, and Kenya with 2. Rwanda, Ethiopia, Angola, Uganda, Sudan, Mauritius, Tunisia, and Senegal each have one satellite.
