Africa is till lagging behind on matters of setting up advance infrastructure to support research and development as well as facilitate efficient communication and network coverage globally. One of this advanced area is in space satellites as very few African nations have managed to launch few operational satellites into space with help from external space agencies. Space satellites form a foundation upon which all other computer and communication technology is built.
Just to mention a few, space satellites facilitate global communication, research and development with the help of AI(Artificial Intelligence) applications, collection of data about the planet, observation of space and asteroids, military applications like missile guidance systems , weather forecasting, navigation and broadcasting among many other applications.
Consequently, the Kenyan Government will be launching its first operational website in the next week. The satellite has been dabbed Taifa-1, equivalent of Nation-1 in the English language. Taifa-1 will be launched to space onboard SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The State Department of Defense of the Republic of Kenya and the Kenya Space Agency have lauded the mission while stating that it is an important milestone that will contribute to the country’s nascent space industry. The observation satellite has been “fully designed and developed “by Kenyan Engineers. Testing and manufacturing of the parts was done in collaboration with a Bulgarian Aerospace manufacturer. The collaboration is indicative of the fact that African countries lack sufficient infrastructure to support such operations owing to the huge amount of capital required for research, development and installation of this infrastructure.
According to Kenyan agencies, the satellite will be used to provide data on agriculture and food security among other applications. Countries around the horn of Africa have been experiencing long drought periods leading to anger. If satellites are leveraged properly, they could predict weather patterns with aid from AI applications so that governments can make future plans and properly inform their citizens to take posterity measures.
In 2018 Kenya had launched an experimental nano-satellite from the International Space Station. Egypt was the first African country to launch a satellite in 1998 and since then it is approximated that as of 2022, only 13 African countries had manufactured and launched a total of 48 satellites but none of them launched from the planet – due to lack of associated infrastructure like rockets to support launches. Some African nations have however formed alliances with other first class economies to help build their own space programs. The most recent is Djibouti which has an agreement with a Hong Kong-based firm to build a $1 billion commercial spaceport in period of 5 years.
When it comes to computer technology like blockchain, web3 and AI, satellites can find a lot of applications. GPS(Global Positioning System) and GPRS(General Packet Radio Service) systems for instance use satellites to operate. In the web3 sector, a recent alliance between ZeroSync and Blockstream is set to allow the broadcasting of Bitcoin Zero Knowledge proofs over satellite to everywhere on the globe including areas with poor internet connection. This could allow users in the cryptocurrency community to transact Bitcoin without requiring internet. You can read more about this here.
In conclusion, African countries need to show commitment in embracing technology if it is to effectively compete against first class economies.
