Africa’s space industry is expanding steadily, with 13 African states manufacturing about 50 satellites and a sector worth close to $20 million in 2021.
This week, the second iteration of the NewSpace Africa conference took place in Côte d’Ivoire with the attendance of over 300 people. The conference examines how space can improve agricultural technology, combat climate change, and strengthen local economies.
Three times as many people attended the second NewSpace Africa conference in Kenya in 2022 as did the first one. The African Union Commission and Space in Africa are in charge of organising the event.
Africa’s space industry is expanding steadily, with 13 African states manufacturing about 50 satellites and a sector worth close to $20 million in 2021.
African nations are becoming more aware of the value of technology and space exploration. The African Union’s African Space Policy and Strategy is a framework that offers a coordinated approach to guiding Africa’s space sector.
The newly established African Space Agency (AfSA), with its headquarters in Cairo, aims to serve as both the hub for African cooperation with non-African partners and the platform for space research on the continent.
Dr. Tidiane Ouattara, the coordinator of the GMES and Africa programmes and a space science expert for the African Union Commission, declared that “the African Space Agency will facilitate the advancement of technology in all member states.”
Additionally, it aims to unite nations with less developed space programmes. In 2015, Gabon began its space programme in response to the problems caused by climate change.
The Gabonese Agency for Space Studies and Observation (AGEOS) was crucial in gathering information about the country’s forests, biodiversity, and carbon emissions because 88 percent of it is covered by forests.
According to Aboukar Mambimba Ndjoungui, deputy director of AGEOD, “Before we invested in our own space agency, we spent millions of CFA francs on a large staff deployed for up to seven months on the ground for forest monitoring.” We have a lot fewer people on the ground now that we have our satellite, and we send them to places where we don’t have enough data. Thus, we were able to save both time and money.
The entire Gulf of Guinea is covered by the Gabon satellite, which also covers 24 other countries in central and west Africa. “The satellite data and images are of tremendous help in identifying the areas prone to floods, thereby preventing natural disasters,” says the UN.
“And we keep an eye on Lake Chad. We keep an eye on piracy, illegal fishing, and hydrocarbon pollution in the Gulf of Guinea. The concerned parties are then given detailed information by AGEOS.”
The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme (GMES) is currently being carried out by the African Union Commission in collaboration with more than 150 institutions.
The recently finished space city in Egypt will start up fully in June 2023. According to Dr. Sherif Sedky, CEO of the Egyptian Space Agency, other African nations may use the satellite assembly, integration, and testing facility for specific testing.