Excerpt from the U.S.-African Space Cooperation Webinar
Space in Africa and CompTIA Space Enterprise Council hosted a webinar on the US-African Space Cooperation, themed “Unlocking Innovation Across the Continent”. The event was borne out of the need to examine the current and future challenges and opportunities to US-African space cooperation focusing on innovation, space technologies, services, and applications.
The event had two-panel sessions,…
Challenges and Opportunities in the African Space Industry
The African space industry has seen phenomenal growth. As a result, more countries are making cases for the need for national space programmes and the usefulness of space technologies in their sustainable development journeys. However, as the industry becomes more saturated, what are the challenges and possible opportunities attainable within the African space industry? This article investigates…
Why is France the Biggest Recipient of Satellite Contracts from Africa?
The African space industry has enjoyed a growing participation in the sector- from the adoption of space-based technologies to the establishment of space agencies and the renewed investment by several state governments to advance space activities on the continent. This growth has also led to African countries launching satellites into different orbits to enhance the development of various sectors…
About USD 4.5 billion Spent on Satellite Projects in Africa
Twenty-three years after the NileSat 101 went into orbit, Egypt and 12 other African States have launched a total of 44 satellites. Together, African countries have spent USD 4,462,463,820 on these satellite projects. As of June 2021, 21 out of 54 African states have either created a space programme or are in the process of establishing a national space policy with the recent addition of Namibia…
UNOOSA’s “Space Economy – Africa in Focus” Virtual Conference – Excerpts
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) organised its first virtual conference dedicated to the space economy in Africa on the 30th of June, 2021. The conference was titled “Space Economy – Africa In Focus”. The initiative provided free-to-access opportunities to exchange expertise and insights of public and private-sector experts from across the global space sector. In…
A Commercially Driven African Space Industry
Much like any industry or venture as complicated and expensive as the space industry, the space industry is usually entered first by the government, with a corollary centralised operation system. This is because the government is usually the only entity with enough resources – finance wise and workforce wise – to venture into such expensive projects.
This has been the case with the space…
Is Africa Wasting Time and Resources on Small Satellites?
The cost of launching satellites into outer space has drastically reduced, mostly because satellites have become smaller. The small satellite phenomenon emerged in the 1980s. And it has enabled more countries and companies to participate in space activities. In the 1980s, only 15 countries had launched satellites into outer space. Today, more than 80 countries have done so. That’s about a 433%…
Africa Launched Only One Satellite in 2020
Africa launched only one satellite this year, ET-SMART-RSS, a small satellite owned by Ethiopia, built and launched with support from China. This is the first time since 2016 that the burgeoning space region has launched less than three satellites in a calendar year. Other countries were expected to launch satellites this year, such as Mauritius and Tunisia, but these launches have been postponed…
Africa Launched Only One Satellite in 2020
Africa launched only one satellite this year, ET-SMART-RSS, a small satellite owned by Ethiopia, built and launched with support from China. This is the first time since 2016 that the burgeoning space region has launched less than three satellites in a calendar year. Other countries were expected to launch satellites this year, such as Mauritius and Tunisia, but these launches have been postponed…
Top Stories That Shaped The African Space Industry in 2020
As at the time of publishing this update, no African country has launched a satellite in 2020. Although countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Angola, Ethiopia and Tunisia announced satellite projects, launch dates of these projects are fixed for the future. Tunisia’s Challenge ONE satellite will now launch in March 2021. Nigeria’s space agency, NASRDA also announced that it would start constructing two…