Uganda has successfully launched her first satellite into space today, November 7, 2022.
Two satellites, ZimSat-I (for Zimbabwe) and PearlAfricaSat-I (for Uganda), both IU CubeSats, were launched into space from Virginia in United States of America.
PearlAfricaSat-I was transported into space by the Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket aboard the Cygnus spacecraft named Sally Ride. ;
It was named after the first American woman in space.
Built by three Ugandan engineers – Bonny Omara, Edgar Mujuni, and Derrick Tebusek, the satellite is expected to last three years. ;
The engineers used the technology they acquired in Japan to build the Satellite.
The three engineers according to science, technology and innovation minister Dr Monica Musenero, were sponsored by the Government to study aerospace engineering in Japan three years ago.
Addressing journalists Monday, November 6, 2022, Musenero said the satellite will play a vital role in planning and resource management and environmental impact assessment in the oil and gas industry.
The presence of the Ugandan satellite in the sky, Musenero explained, will also trim the country’s huge expenditure on procurement of data from countries with satellites.
“With our own data, analysis and prediction of weather, water quality, soil fertility, landslides, locusts and armyworm invasion and drought, will be efficient,” Musenero stated.
According to Africa-space Generation Advisory Council, a total of 20 satellites have been launched by African states since 2016, totalling 41 satellites on the continent, with Egypt leading the space technology with nine launched satellites.
According to aerospace experts, the average cost of launching a satellite in space is estimated to range from $50m to $400m (about shillings 190b to shillings 1.52 trillion), depending on the type of satellite one desires to launch.
