EA nations race to own space satellites as Kenya launches Taifa-1
Screen shots of Taifa-1, Kenya's first operational earth observation satellite, launches to space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US on April 15,2023. PHOTO | SILA KIPLAGAT | NMG
East African countries are ramping up efforts to have their own satellites in space to gather country-specific information on weather, climate change and security.
Kenya is the latest entrant in the league of 13 African nations that have so far sent at least one operational satellite to space, coming after Rwanda and Uganda which launched their first working satellites in 2019 and 2022 respectively.
