The Republic of Djibouti has launched its first satellite, Djibouti 1A. It took off last weekend from the Vandenberg Space Force Base onboard the SpaceX Transporter-9, a dedicated SSO rideshare mission carrying a variety of payloads into sun-synchronous orbit.
A sun-synchronous orbit is a type of polar orbit that enables a satellite to pass over the same part of the Earth at roughly the same local solar time, useful for consistent shadow angles for imagery and consistent lighting for solar power.
Djibouti 1A was developed via a joint capacity-building programme between Djibouti and its technical partner, France’s Centre Spatial Universitaire de Montpellier (CSUM). Djiboutian engineers and technicians in France designed, constructed and tested the satellite.
Djibouti 1A is a nanosatellite – a small satellite, typically weighing between one and ten kilograms, used for space research and communication purposes. It will collect national, real-time data from climatological and seismic stations, including temperature, rainfall, river depth, and hydrometry, to help boost agricultural production and monitor environmental changes.
Djibouti’s Minister of Higher Education and Research, Mr Nabil Mohamed Ahmed, is quoted in a number of news reports as saying: “The objective was to make the satellite but not to buy it, and have it manufactured by our students to make this technological leap and say in an uninhibited way that Djibouti is capable of manufacturing a satellite, launching it, collecting results for the climate but also getting started in development perspectives. The result is that ten technicians and engineers were trained.”
This satellite first for an African country should be followed fairly soon by another. As we reported in October, Senegal is preparing for the launch of its first satellite, initially scheduled for 2021 and postponed to 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jamhuri ya Djibouti imezindua satelaiti yake ya kwanza, Djibouti 1A. Ndege hiyo iliondoka katika kituo cha anga cha Vandenberg, Marekani, na kusafiri kwa ndege ya SpaceX Transporter-9 ambayo ilikuwa na vifaa mbalimbali vya kusafirisha vifaa vya anga hadi kwenye mzunguko wa jua. Mzunguko wa jua-synchronous ni aina ya mzunguko wa polar ambayo inaruhusu satellite kupita juu ya sehemu moja ya Dunia karibu wakati huo wa jua, muhimu kwa pembe za kivuli thabiti kwa picha na taa thabiti kwa nishati ya jua. Djibouti 1A ilitengenezwa kupitia mpango wa pamoja wa kujenga uwezo kati ya Djibouti na mshirika wake wa kiufundi, Ufaransa's Centre Spatial Universitaire de Montpellier (CSUM). Wahandisi na mafundi wa Djibouti nchini Ufaransa walibuni, kujenga na kupima setilaiti hiyo. Djibouti-1A ni satelaiti ndogo, ambayo kwa kawaida inazidi uzito wa kilo moja hadi kumi, inayotumiwa kwa ajili ya utafiti wa anga na mawasiliano. Kituo hicho kitakusanya data za kitaifa kutoka vituo vya hali ya hewa na seismic, ikiwa ni pamoja na joto, mvua, kina cha mto, na hydrometry, kusaidia kuongeza uzalishaji wa kilimo na kufuatilia mabadiliko ya mazingira. Waziri wa elimu ya juu na utafiti wa Djibouti, Nabil Mohamed Ahmed, alisema kuwa lengo la mradi huo ni kutengeneza satelaiti hiyo na kuwafanya wanafunzi wake kuifanya kwa njia ya teknolojia na kusema kwa njia ya wazi kwamba Djibouti ina uwezo wa kutengeneza satelaiti, kuizindua, kukusanya matokeo ya hali ya hewa na pia kuanza maendeleo. Matokeo ni kwamba mafundi na wahandisi kumi walifundishwa. <unk> Satelaiti hii ya kwanza kwa nchi ya Afrika inapaswa kufuatiwa hivi karibuni na nyingine. Senegal inaandaa uzinduzi wa satelaiti yake ya kwanza, iliyopangwa kufanyika mnamo 2021 na kuahirishwa hadi 2023 kwa sababu ya janga la COVID-19.