- The satellite named Nation-1, or Taifa-1 in Swahili, was to be deployed aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
- Taifa-1 was fully designed and developed by a team of Kenyan engineers.
Image: WINNIE WANJIKU
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Company Wednesday delayed the launch of Kenya’s first earth observation satellite by a further 48 hours.
They cited unfavourable weather conditions at the launch base in California.
The acting director of Space Regulation Exploration and Utilization at Kenya Space Agency Lt Col Andrew Nyawade announced Wednesday morning the launch had been pushed to April 14.
“We have received communication that the launch of the first operational satellite in Kenya will be delayed till 14th April 2023 due to strong winds in the upper atmosphere,” he said.
This will be the second time the launch is being delayed due to bad weather.
The satellite named Nation-1, or Taifa-1 in Swahili, was to be deployed aboard a Falcon 9 rocket alongside other satellites from other countries on Tuesday.
A statement from the Kenya Space Agency had Tuesday said the delay was due to unfavourable upper-level wind conditions” that would affect the rocket’s flight trajectory.
The launch, according to the statement on Tuesday said it was expected to take place on Wednesday, April 12 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, but that has been pushed further by two days.
The main mission of the satellite will be to provide data for use in agriculture, food security, land management, and environmental monitoring.
Taifa-1 was fully designed and developed by a team of Kenyan engineers with testing done in collaboration with a Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer.
The country was all set to witness the historic launch which was to be streamed live from the University of Nairobi where experts had gathered to take Kenyans through the events and the importance of the satellite and the nation’s socio-economic development.
Hailed as a landmark achievement for Kenya, the observation satellite fully designed and developed by Kenyan engineers will be used to provide data on agriculture and food security, among other areas.
“The mission is an important milestone,” the defence ministry and Kenya Space Agency said, adding that it would contribute significantly to the country’s “budding space economy”.
Testing and manufacturing of the parts were done in collaboration with a Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer.
Egypt was the first African country to send a satellite into space in 1998.
In 2018, Kenya launched its first experimental nanosatellite from the International Space Station.
As of 2022, at least 13 African countries had manufactured 48 satellites, according to Space in Africa. They include Ethiopia, Angola, South Africa, Sudan and others