US helps Kenya launch its Taifa 1 Satellite into space
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Staff reporter GAROWE ONLINE
- Posted On 16-04-2023, 11:07AM
NAIROBI, Kenya - SayariLabs, in collaboration with the Kenya Space Agency and Endurosat, has launched Kenya’s first 3U Earth observation satellite, the Taifa-1, today aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 full-thrust rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), Vandenberg Space Force Base in the USA.
A team of Kenyan engineers from SayariLabs, designed and constructed Taifa-1 in collaboration with Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer Endurosat AD, which helped offset the design cost. The satellite was intentionally designed to weigh a ton to reduce development time and launch costs and to facilitate entry for developing countries without the capacity for large satellites.
The historic launch was watched by millions online.
“The mission is an important milestone,” the defence ministry and Kenya Space Agency said in a joint statement, adding that it would contribute significantly to the country’s “budding space economy”.
The observation satellite is “fully designed and developed” by Kenyan engineers and will be used to provide data on agriculture and food security, among other areas, the statement said.
Testing and manufacturing of the parts were done in collaboration with a Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer, it added.
An East African economic powerhouse, Kenya is suffering its worst drought in decades after five failed rain seasons.
The satellite launch adds to a push by African nations for scientific innovation and the development of space programmes.
Egypt was the first African country to send a satellite into space in 1998.
In 2018, Kenya launched its first experimental nano-satellite from the International Space Station.
As of 2022, at least 13 African countries had manufactured 48 satellites, according to Space in Africa, a Nigeria-based firm that tracks African space programmes.
More than 50 African satellites have been launched as of November 2022, according to Space in Africa, although none from African soil.
Taifa-1’s launch is the first step towards developing a proposed constellation of small EO satellites for Kenya. It is expected to significantly contribute to spurring the growth of Kenya’s space economy by improving satellite development, data analytics, processing, and application capabilities.
In addition, the mission is expected to provide accurate and timely Earth observation data to stakeholders across various sectors for strategic developmental decisions. For example, the data will support agriculture, natural resource management, and environmental observations. Additionally, the satellite launch demonstrates Kenya’s progress in developing satellite manufacturing capabilities for socio-economic benefits.
According to the satellite’s mission statement released by the Kenya Space Agency, Taifa-1 has an optical camera that can capture images in five multispectral bands and a panchromatic band, with a ground sampling distance of 32 and 16 metres, respectively.
These images are combined to create higher-quality pan-sharpened images. Furthermore, the satellite bus comprises other subsystems, such as electrical power, communication, structures and mechanisms, onboard computing, attitude determination and control, and thermal control, necessary for the payload to function optimally and achieve mission objectives.
In addition, both the payload and the satellite bus have onboard mass storage systems that temporarily store images before they are downloaded from the ground station.
In addition, the ground segment comprises a ground station operating on UHF/S/X Band frequencies and all the necessary equipment for tracking and wireless communication with the Taifa-1 space segment. It is the main access point for mission operators to communicate with the satellite.
GAROWE ONLINE
