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Taifa-1: Satellite Developed by Kenyan Engineers Set to Go Live Next Week

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Festus Conteh
By Festus Conteh 182 Views 2 Min Read
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Taifa-1: Satellite Developed by Kenyan Engineers Set to Go Live Next Week
Taifa-1: Satellite Developed by Kenyan Engineers Set to Go Live Next Week

A satellite named Taifa – 1 developed by Kenyans is set to be launched next week.  The machine that will offer real-time data on agriculture, forest cover and mineral resources will go live in California on Monday, April 10. It will be aboard Elon Musk’s Space X Falcon 9 rocket.

The satellite dubbed Taifa-1 will help Kenyans make informed policies by mapping out climatic conditions, mineral wealth and data on food security. “We are working on the ground receiver which should be completed by July, after which it will be relaying the data,” Defence Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru stated.

The satellite cost Kenyan engineers KSh 50 million according to Business Daily. A statement by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) indicated the satellite shall be overhead Kenyan space once every four days for a period of five years that it is anticipated to be in orbit. Taifa-1 is Kenya’s operational 3U Earth Observation Satellite. It is, the second satellite to be launched into orbit after the 1U Nanosatellite developed by the University of Nairobi in conjunction with the Italian Space Agency and launched with the assistance of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency in May 2018,” Mariru said.

Read Also: Where there’s will, there’s way: 40-Year-Old Kenyan Goes Back To School After Twenty Five Years

In 2018, Kenya embarked on space exploration with its first-ever homemade KSh 100 million satellite dubbed Nano. The satellite was developed by the University of Nairobi (UoN) in collaboration with Spienza University in Italy and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA).

Former UoN UoN vice-chancellor Peter Mbithi said the 10 cm by 10 cm cube satellite will be used in gathering data on the weather forecast, climate change, coastline monitoring, wildlife and earth mapping and even transport and logistics.

“Successful deployment of Nano Satellite will set stage for the next phase for Kenyan scientists and engineers to develop bigger higher resolution satellites with more serious scientific and technological value,” Mbithi said.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

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Festus Conteh is an international youth that functions conveniently in all forms of writing including article writing, news, script, content writing, constitution and project/proposal writing. Writing is fun to Festus and has brought fame and recognition in his clime. In 2019, he was awarded best upcoming writer in an online writing completion that was organized by the Association of Sierra Leonean Authors (ASLA). After his impactful contribution to national development and cohesion through writing, he was nominated for the African Genius Award for the Best Writer in Africa Award Category an award he lost to one of the greatest African Writers - Chinua Achebe. In 2022, Festus was one of the applicants to the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) as Vice Chairperson (Policy and Advocacy) a process that met imperil feedback. As a freelancer, Festus has written articles for magazines, newspapers, and media houses and his articles have attracted big media houses including BBC, Aljazeera and Legit. Ng and is the Head of Programs at Salone Messenger a public relations firm based in Sierra Leone with the latest news and information. He is the founder of Africa’s Wakanda a platform that spotlight the beauty of Africa. Festus is also a perpetual volunteer in life-changing causes and has shown great commitment and dedication to being a catalyst and solution to the challenges faced by young people like himself. Festus currently serves as the Secretary General of the Africa Youth Leaders movement which is a network of youth between the ages of 20 – 30 years who have shown achievement, leadership potential and commitment to make a difference. Festus is also the Africa Focal Point of Youth for Change Initiative, which is a platform through which young people can access resources, be empowered and given the opportunity to grow to become useful members of society who will participate in the development of their communities and nation. Along with another Africa Youth platform, Festus has Co-Founded the Future of Africa initiative which is an advocate forum with the aim to bring together local and international socio-economic stakeholders to support innovative programs aimed at advancing the radical and practical progress of adoption awareness-vulnerable children and youth and youth leadership-through interlinking local, regional and international resources and opportunities.