As of August 19, 2024, only 17 African countries have launched satellites, according to SpaceHubs Africa. The total number of satellites launched by these countries is 61, with South Africa launching the first satellite in 1998. Senegal is now the latest African country to launch a satellite, which is its very first satellite.
Gaindesat was launched at 6:46 p.m. GMT on Friday from the US Vandenberg Air Force base in California, in partnership with SpaceX.
“After five years of hard work by our engineers and technicians, this achievement marks a significant step toward our technological sovereignty. I wish to express my pride and gratitude to all those who made this project possible,” President Bassirou Diomaye Faye wrote on X following the launch.
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Gaindesat was designed and built by Senegalese engineers in collaboration with the Montpelier University Space Center (CSUM). It is expected to collect data for various state agencies including the Directorate of Water Resource Management and Planning (DGPRE) and the National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM).
Officials said the satellite would specifically contribute to water resource management, weather forecasting, aviation safety and climate monitoring.
Senegal and the following African countries are showing the world that Africa is ready to make strides in space exploration:
Ghana
Ghana launched its first satellite called GhanaSat1 in 2017. It was developed by university students who took two years to design, assemble and test as part of a Japanese space project. It was launched from the international space station and came with high and low-resolution cameras to take pictures and provide data on the coastal regions of the country.
Its main mission is to investigate radiation effects on satellite systems in space which are degraded due to the harsh space environment.
Nigeria
Nigeria launched two earth observation satellites into space in 2011 to monitor its weather. The NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X satellites were launched into orbit aboard a Russian Dnepr rocket from Yasny, southern Russia.
In all, it has launched seven satellites: DELSAT-1 | NigeriaSat-1, -2, -X | NigComSat-1, -1R | NigeriaEduSat-1
Algeria
The North African country has launched six satellites: Alsat-1, -1B, -1N, -2A, -2B | Alcomsat-1
It’s been six years since it launched its first communication satellite program in Orbit in cooperation with China. The Alcomsat-1 satellite was carried into orbit by a Chinese Long March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.
Alcomsat-1 satellite is used by Algeria for broadcast and television, emergency communication, e-governance, enterprise communication, distance education, broadband access and satellite-based navigation.
Egypt
It has 13 Satellites in orbit: EgyptSat-1, -2, -A | HORUS-1 -2 | NARSScube-1, -2 | NExSAT-1 | Nilesat 101, 102, 201, 301 | TIBA 1).
EgyptSat 1 was Egypt’s first Earth remote-sounding satellite, which was jointly built by Egypt’s National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences with the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Ukraine. It was launched on board a Dnepr rocket as part of a multi-satellite payload in April 2007 from Baikonur.
Morocco
This week, it was reported that Morocco had signed an agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to acquire two Earth Observation satellites, in a deal worth $1 billion. The two new satellites will replace the existing Mohammed VI-A and Mohammed VI-B satellites, which were developed by Airbus Defence and Space France and Thales Alenia Space France.
In all, Morocco has three satellites in space: Mohammed VI-A, -B | Maroc-Tubsat
Sudan
Sudan launched its first and only satellite, the Sudan Remote Sensing Satellite (SRSS)-1, in 2019 by a Chinese Long March 4B satellite launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in China’s northern Shanxi Province.
The satellite was developed and built by Chinese satellite manufacturer Shenzhen Aerospace Oriental Red Sea Satellite Co. on behalf of the Sudanese government. It is used for civil and national security Earth observation missions.
Tunisia
Tunisia’s only satellite Challenge ONE was launched in 2021 from the Baikonur base in south-central Kazakhstan aboard the Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket.
The satellite, designed and developed by Tunisians, enables communication and data exchange in many areas including transport, agriculture, logistics and control.
Djibouti
DJIBOUTI-1A is the first and only satellite of Djibouti that was launched to “collect data from climatological, rainfall and limnimetric stations spread across the Djiboutian territory.”
Ethiopia
Ethiopia has launched two satellites: ET-RSS1, ET-SMART-RSS
Ethiopia’s first-ever satellite, ET-RSS1, blasted off into space from China in 2019, with its ground station located in Ethiopia at the Entoto space observatory facility.
It was launched to monitor the environment and weather patterns for better agricultural planning, drought early warning, mining activities and forestry management, officials said at the time.
Kenya
Three satellites have been launched by Kenya: 1KUNS-PF, IKUNS-3, Taifa1. Its first operational earth observation satellite, Taifa-1, launched in 2023 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, U.S.
Meaning “Nation-1” in Swahili, the Taifa-1 satellite was designed and developed by Kenyan researchers to provide data for agriculture and environmental monitoring.
Uganda
It has one satellite in space — PEARLSAT-1, which was launched in 2022 aboard an American spaceship at the NASA control center in Dulles, Virginia. A joint project between Uganda and Japan, the satellite provides data for agriculture monitoring; infrastructure planning; border security and disaster prevention; weather forecasting; and land, water and mineral mapping.
South Africa
South Africa has launched 13 satellites into space including its first biggest private satellite in 2017. The country launched its first satellite in 1998.
Its nanosatellite called the nSight1 was launched to capture images with its remote-sensing camera. Locally built and designed in South Africa, nSight1 is expected to study the largely unexplored lower thermosphere and send information back to Earth.
These are the total satellites launched by the country: Intelsat NewDawn | Kondor-E | MDASAT -1a, -1b, -1c | nSIGHT-1 | SUMBANDILA | SUNSAT-1 | Platform-2 | XinaBox ThinSAT| ZA-AeroSat | ZACUBE-1, -2.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe launched its earth observation satellite, ZimSat-1, in 2022 to transmit data from orbit to the command center at the Mazowe ground station. The satellite has been helpful in the country’s agricultural and mining mapping efforts.
Angola
AngoSat-1, -2 are its satellites. In 2017, the country launched its first national satellite after suffering a brief loss of contact two days after take-off from the Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan.
The AngoSat-1 communications satellite was built in partnership with Russia to aid in improving telecommunication services, telemedicine and other projects.
Mauritius
The first satellite of Mauritius, MIR-SAT 1, was deployed from the International Space Station in 2021. “The First Mauritian Satellite is a historical achievement for the Republic of Mauritius. We are proud to count amongst the handful of Space faring Small Island Developing States. This initiative prompts a number of promising avenues for research development and innovation in Space and Satellite technology in Mauritius – fields which were, in the recent past, unaccessible for our small nation. We look forward to seeing Space and Satellite technology bring a new thrust to STEM in Mauritius,” Vickram Bissonauth, co- project coordinator from Mauritius Research and Innovation Council, said at the time.
Rwanda
In 2019, an H2-B rocket carrying Rwanda’s first satellite, RWASAT-1, was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center by the Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA). A team of three Rwandan engineers developed the satellite with the support of engineers from the University of Tokyo. In effect, Rwanda has two satellites launched: Icyerekezo | RWASat-1
