Africa is Expanding Its Space Initiatives

Generally speaking, when we talk about space, launching satellites, manned missions, etc. We especially mention the behemoths in the field which are the United States with NASA and SpaceX, Europe with the ESA and more recently, China with the CNSA. But if they draw all the light on their space activities, another continent is starting to develop this sector: Africa.

Cheaper satellites to produce

Although the motto of space is that it belongs to everyone and is not reserved for a self-decreed elite, this is not yet really the case. Indeed, NASA, ESA or CNSA have considerable resources to set up missions. This is notably inherited from a context where the world was shared between two camps and it was therefore necessary to show the other its superiority in this area.

However, this is no longer really the case today. Thus, access to space, even if it represents a certain cost, is no longer as expensive, particularly with regard to the production of satellites.

A definite opportunity for Africa as explained by Kwaku Sumah, founder of Spacehubs Africato the BBC. “This cost reduction opened the market. These small nations [ndr, les pays africains] now have the opportunity to get involved.” he declared.

For what use?

In orbit around the Earth, there are many satellites and there are likely to be even more of them. Alone or in constellation, satellites have diverse and varied objectives. Whether they are military communications relays, provide access to an internet service, monitor the climate… satellites are particularly useful in everyday life.

Africa, a continent which is bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change with particularly severe droughts in particular, sees satellites as a means of monitoring the climate, but also crops. Everything that can therefore allow us to have an eye on the resources of different countries in order to best prepare for different climatic and weather hazards.

Questioned by the BBCJessie Ndaba, co-founder of Astrofica Technologies in South Africa, and Sarah Kimani, from the Kenyan Meteorological Department, expressed the importance for Africa to have its satellites to respond to current challenges, far from the space objectives of other agencies such as the Moon or Mars.

“We must look at the challenges we face in Africa and find ways to solve them.” said Jessie Ndaba. For her part, Sarah Kimani, expresses the fact that although she was able to benefit from European data from Eumestat to monitor a sandstorm and thus prepare for it as best as possible, “only Africa understands its needs” she explained to the BBC.

In this sense, she would like Kenya, her country, and each country on the continent in general to benefit from their own space facilities in order to best monitor the country's resources from the skies.

A space race in Africa

Finally, in the last part of his article, the BBC also undertakes to demonstrate that if Africa tends to develop its space program it is not solely due to itself. Indeed, to enable the development of the continent's various programs, African countries have been able to count on behemoths such as the United States, China and Europe.

Thus, according to a blog article from the London School of Economicsthe desire behind this aid is not only that of wanting to see Africa go into space. No, the fact that the continent is developing its space activity allows these big names to compete through other players. A source of concern for the Nigerian Temidayo Oniosun, director of the consulting firm Space in Africabut also a way to increase the stakes for Kwaku Sumah.

“We can play these different powers against each other to get the best deals.” he declared to the BBC.

Currently, of the thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth, only sixty belong to African countries, Temidayo Oniosun explains that 80 more are in development. Enough to allow us to say that a real space race is taking place on the African continent which also has a particularity which interests the major space powers.

Indeed, the continent being crossed by the equator, it could see numerous launch bases set up there in order to save fuel for launching rockets.

Source : BBC