⚡ launching satellites ⚡ Africa's rising satellites game 🌐
Is the Dark Continent taking to the skies? According to research by Space in Africa, since the inaugural satellite launch back in the '90s, a whopping 13 African nations have sent 44 satellites into orbit. That's not all! An additional 125 projects are underway in 23 countries, all aiming for launch by 2025.
That's a lotta satellites 🌃 But what's in it for Africa? In the 2021 World Economic Forum report, the potential benefits of space tech were estimated at a cool $2 billion per year. But there's more:
🌱 Agriculture 💧 Water management 🌳 Forestry... Satellites can help tackle Africa's challenges, measuring plant health, optimizing water usage, and managing timber resources in a more sustainable way. And remember, less than half of Africans have access to broadband, so more satellites could mean more people connected to the Internet 🌐
So, what's holding back Africa's satellite revolution?
🚀 Astrofica 💪 A South African space consultancy, Astrofica, was founded four years ago to address Africa's challenges – everything from food security to national security. Khalid Manjoo, co-founder and CTO, aims to launch a satellite constellation by the end of 2022 that can provide decision-makers with real-time, critical data.
💰 Money, money, money! Manjoo believes African nations are paying too much for international agricultural data and not soon enough. He's all for collaboration, but things are moving slower than a turtle on prom night 🐢
🚀 To the moon and beyond! With rocket-sharing options (like renting a seat on someone else's ride) becoming more affordable, Manjoo plans to launch Astrofica's first satellite with a U.S., Russian or Indian rocket.
But wait, there's more! 🕺
💰 SATSLAM! More than 280 space and satellite industries across Africa made a cool $7.3 billion in 2019 and are set to rake in $7.3 billion by 2024, hitting $10 billion by 2025.
🚀 Dragonfly Aerospace 🚀 Another South African player, Dragonfly Aerospace, is building a 3,000-square-meter satellite manufacturing facility in Stellenbosch. It expects to launch its first satellite from the U.S. in June 2023, but the real goal is Mars!
🚧 Barriers to overcome 🚧
🌡️ Resource scarcity 🧠 Changing mindsets 🔄 Government bureaucracy 💸 Investment 💼
Minoo Rathnasabapathy, a space engineer at MIT, remarks that challenges remain, with focus needed on resource allocation and mindset shift. Manjoo from Astrofica agrees, 🎯 arguing that the African government needs to invest to support local firms.
🔔 Caveat lector – sois averti
Look, we're not spilling the beans about the challenges these nations face or the potential benefits of investing in space tech. That's for someone else to decide. What we're here for is to inform and entertain you well, my friend 🤓
Footnotes
[1] China commits to expand meteorological satellite network for Africa, Asia, and Pacific. (2022, November 24). SpaceNews.
[2] RASCOM project to help African satellite operators harness opportunities in LEO space. (2022, November 24). SpaceNews.
[3] African Space Industry Growth in 2021. (2022, November 22). Space News Africa.
[4] Rwandan-Japanese collaboration to combat landslides. (2023, January 10). CNN Africa.
[5] Safaricom partnering with SpaceX to offer satellite connectivity. (2023, February 10). ITWeb Africa.
