MIT Space Enabled Research Team is in West Africa
In 2017, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab established the Space Enabled Research Group with the aim of Advancing justice in Earth's complex systems using designs enabled by space. The research group which is led by Dr. Danielle Wood is in Ghana and Benin Republic, meeting with representatives of start up companies, government agencies and universities to explore research…
Call for an Astronaut program in Africa
In 2006, the World Space Week launched the World Space Week Youth Inspiration Project which sent students into simulated zero-gravity to experience flying in space. The students flew on the Zero G plane which simulates the weightlessness of space. The project uses the excitement of space to inspire students globally to excel in school. As a pilot project, a high school student from Nigeria,…
Rwanda’s satellite to monitor progress on SDGs
Rwanda is probably not what you'd think of as top contender in Africa's space tech scene. It's small, landlocked and has a troubled past. The population is also small, just topping 12 million, which is less than half of Lagos and, on average, salaries are $700 a year. But none of that is stopping the country from pushing ahead in a big way.
Rwanda is currently readying itself for satellite…
Making the case for African investment in space programmes
The first half of the African Space Strategy, adopted by the African Union (AU) in 2016, lays out the ways in which African countries could benefit from space science and technologies. That is a pretty fair representation of the reality space communities face on the continent: in any discussion with politicians or policy makers, the first half of a conversation is spent justifying why they…
The Black Panther Will Take Us Into Outer Space
In the movie, "Black Panther", Wakanda is a fictional African country of the future that is the most technologically advanced in the world.
Presently, in the real world there are African nations advancing in scientific innovation and space technology as they join the rest of the world in exploring the benefits of space development.
There will be approximately two billion people in Africa by…
Meet the top 13 women in the African Space Industry
In celebration of the International Women's Day; "Space in Africa" has compiled a list of 13 amazing women who are driving the African Space Industry. The list features Engineers, Scientists, Policy Makers and Advocates.
We hope this list inspires a generation of women in SPACE.
1. ABIMBOLA ALALE (NIGERIA) is the only female boss of a major satellite company in Africa, Europe and the Middle…
Apply to represent your country at Space Generation Advisory Council
Apply today to be the National Point of Contact (NPoC) of your country! NPoCs are volunteers that act as contact point for SGAC in their country, forming a local team that coordinated SGAC activities at national level. Each country can have up to two NPoCs who work together to coordinate SGAC activities in their country.
Deadline for Applications: 25 March 2018
Responsibilities
SGAC encourages…
Namibia closer to Space now than ever
In October 2017, Dr Alfred Van Kent; the Permanent Secretary in the Namibian Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innovation, emphasized that the country has the potential of becoming a role player that would contribute towards space exploration and astronomy in the future.
4 Months after his speech, Namibia is very close to building its first satellite through the Bird's project. The…
Kenya to launch first satellite in April
Kenya will in two months join the space race when it launches its first locally built satellite into space.
The 10cm cube nano-satellite was built by engineers at the University of Nairobi with support from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which provided the Sh102 million ($1million) funding and the platform for construction.
It will be shot to the International Space…
FUTA sets Nigerian record, to launch Nigeria’s first Nanosatellite
The Federal University of Technology, Akure, announced on Tuesday that it would on Thursday launch a satellite into space in partnership with other local and international organisations and countries.
The university said the satellite belonged to Japan, Ghana, Mongolia, Nigeria and Bangladesh, and would be launched into Space from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.
“It is the first ever…