Tanzania plans to join regional peers with the launch of its own satellite in space to better monitor weather trends and environmental developments and improve communications and surveillance of its territory from outer space.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Thursday that discussions are ongoing to build and launch its space station but did not disclose who the talks are with.
“We are well prepared. We have started discussions, and rest assured that Tanzania will have its own satellite in the near future,” she said.
Kenya launched its first satellite in April, joining Rwanda and Uganda in the region, which sent their first working satellites to space in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
So far, 13 African nations have at least one operational satellite in space.
Egypt leads the way with nine launched satellites, followed by South Africa with eight, Algeria with seven, Nigeria with six and Morocco with three.
The list includes Ghana, Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, Rwanda, Uganda, Mauritius, and Kenya.
Dar has been in the process of developing the Tanzanian Remote Sensing Satellite (TRSS), which is a series of earth observation satellites meant to provide data on a variety of applications.
Kenya’s Taifa-1 satellite was built by nine Kenyan engineers and released on April 4 onboard a SpaceX rocket in the US. It will collect agricultural and environmental data, including floods, droughts, and wildfires, that authorities plan to use for disaster management and to combat food insecurity.
Three Ugandan engineers teamed up with Japanese counterparts to develop the PearlAfricaSat-1 satellite deployed last November to provide research and observation data for solutions in weather forecast, border security, agriculture monitoring, land, water bodies, infrastructure planning, disaster prevention and mineral mapping.
RwaSat-1 satellite, built by Rwandan engineers in partnership with Japanese scientists and deployed in December 2019, was meant to provide internet access to rural schools.
But so far, Rwanda and Uganda have no success tales yet of their satellites several months after deployment, raising questions on the viability of the region’s space projects.
