2019 Might Be The Best Year So Far For The African Space Industry
As the year winds up, it is exciting to recap Africa's journey in space in 2019 which is the best year so far in the continent's 21-year space history. The year started on a high note with consultations on integrating the African space sector through the establishment of an umbrella agency that will co-ordinate the continent's space programmes.
Although the conversation on founding an African…
Ethiopia Launches First Satellite Named ETRSS-1 From China
A Chinese Long March 4B rocket (CZ-4B) today blasted off into space carrying onboard Ethiopia’s first remote sensing satellite, ETRSS-1, at 03:21 GMT from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China.
The flight, which was earlier scheduled for 17 December, was scrubbed for three days due to unfavourable weather. The 3-stage orbital carrier rocket ferried Ethiopia's ETRSS-1 satellite as a…
International Astronomical Union Approves Names For New Stars And Exoplanets
In recent years, astronomers have discovered thousands of planets and planetary systems orbiting around nearby stars. It is now believed that all stars in the Universe could have planets orbiting them and that some of them may even have physical characteristics that resemble the Earth. As a result of this, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) inaugurated the IAU100 Name ExoWorlds project…
SKA Africa: What The World’s Biggest Telescope Means For Africa’s Development
Sometime in the mid-2020s, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) telescope is expected to deliver its first science data. When completed, it will be the largest scientific instrument ever built, spanning thousands of kilometres and two continents. It is expected to collect so much data that entirely new computer technologies will need to be invented to process it all. But for some, the greatest…
Highlights of the African Leadership Congress 2019 in Addis Ababa
The 8th African Leadership Congress on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development, hosted by the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute at the UN-ECA Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which commenced on the 2 December, ended yesterday.
The conference themed: "Prospects and Challenges of African Space Development ", was an opportunity for stakeholders in the African space…
UK-based Talia Limited Extends Satellite Services To Five More African Countries
UK-based Talia Limited, a communications solutions provider serving the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas, today announced the successful completion of beta testing of its Ka-band High Throughput Satellites (HTS) services in additional African countries including Cameroon, DRC, Gambia, Ghana and Congo, the company said in a press statement.
The announcement follows a week of…
African Space Leadership Congress To Kick Off On Monday; Insights On What To Expect
It is barely three days to the 8th African Leadership Congress (ALC) on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development themed: "Prospects and Challenges of African Space Development" scheduled from the 2-4 December 2019, at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UN-ECA Hall, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The congress, aimed at capitalising efforts of African nations on space…
Egypt To Launch A Pan-African Satellite Development Initiative On Wednesday
The Egyptian Space Agency is set to launch a pan-African satellite project dubbed the African Development Satellite Initiative (AfDev-Sat) on Wednesday during the initiative's first coordination meeting with heads of agencies from seven African countries.
The first coordination meeting is a two-day event slated for 27-28 November 2019 in Cairo. Participants at the meeting will take a tour of the…
Weekly Round-Up Of Opportunities Within The African Space Industry
Our Friday weekly round-up curates opportunities that are still open for applications. The Opportunities portal aggregates job vacancies, internships, scholarships, calls for abstracts, fellowships, contests, exchange programmes and other opportunities that are available for Africans who are interested in space science and technology. Simply put, it’s an aggregator for space and astronomy-related…
Space Science and Satellite Technology Applications Conference To Begin On 25 November
Ghana’s All Nations University will on 25 – 26 November 2019 host industry experts, academics and policymakers from Ghana and invited guests from outside Ghana to a two-day conference on Space Science and Satellite Technology Applications (SSSTA).
The SSSTA conference since its inception remains one of the conferences in Ghana actively championing activities on space science and…