Nigeria buckles down on its commitment to its space industry

The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) recently reaffirmed its mandate to the Nigerian space industry and the country's socio-economic development through a series of events, including a workshop and various agreement signing events.

Earlier in the month, NASRDA and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its United Nations Platform for Space-Based Information for Disaster Management (UN-SPIDER), recently organised the workshop on the use of space-based information to mitigate and promptly respond to flood disasters for early warning. In addition to this, the agency has signed MoU with US-based RBC Signals to resuscitate its Ground Station, Robotics Artificial Intelligence Nigeria Limited (RAIN) for increased space exploitation, and the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (SHAO) to effectively pursue research and astronomical activities for development in Nigeria, amongst others.

Angola's Angosat-2 brings Africa’s total satellite launches to 49

Angola launched its second communications satellite, Angosat-2, aboard the Proton-M Blok DM-03 rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Wednesday, 13th October. The satellite has a design lifespan of 15 years and was constructed at no new cost to Angola due to the insurance package from Angosat-1's USD 300 million contract. The services will cover the entire African continent,?providing?almost complete coverage of southern Africa in Ku Band?and a significant part of Southern Europe in C Band. Read more about the Angosat-2's capabilities here.

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Esri partners with Digital Earth Africa to support sustainable growth

Esri recently signed an MoU with Digital Health Africa to support local organisations that use data sciences to address the effects of climate change like food security, natural disasters, displacement and vulnerable populations in Africa.?

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African Space Industry Annual Report; 2022 Edition

Top Highlights

• African nations allocated a total of USD 534.9 million for the operation of their respective?space?programmes in 2022, a 2.24% increase from the revised USD 523.2 million in 2021.
• Satellite communication is expected to play an essential part in bridging the connectivity gap in Africa. In contrast, GNSS services and the satellite TV segment remain the most significant contributors to the African?space?economy.
• As of 2022, 13 African nations have manufactured 48 satellites.
• There is a paradigm shift from large to small satellites in Africa, primarily due to lower entry barriers.
• 272 NewSpace companies are charting the course of?space?democratisation on the continent.

As Africa continues to harness?space?technology, the impact of the?space?industry?continues to grow, evident in the growth of various industries and national economies. Theomes with annual access to real-time data on every industry segment and player via the new?Space in Africa Data Portal?and yearly access to?premium content?published on the Space in Africa News Website.

Till next week.