Africa’s contribution to space exploration has taken another leap after Ghana officially entered the space race, with its very first satellite now orbiting earth, as reported by TechCrunch.

Launched by the International Space Station in July, GhanaSat-1 is a cubesat (a miniature satellite designed for space research comprising multiples of cubic units) that was built by a Ghanaian engineering team from All Nations University.

According to project manager Richard Damoah, a Ghanaian professor and assistant research scientist at NASA, the satellite has two specific missions. ‘It has cameras on board for detailed monitoring of the coastlines of Ghana,’ he says. ‘Then there’s an educational piece – we want to use it to integrate satellite technology into high school curriculum.’

The project was largely made possible through the support of Japan’s national space agency, JAXA. It is hoped, however, that the successful deployment of GhanaSat-1 will prompt Ghanaian government support towards the development of GhanaSat-2, which will include high-resolution cameras that could monitor conditions such as illegal mining, water use and deforestation.

22 August 2017
Image: All Nations University College, Ghana