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Rwanda’s First Satellite In Space Is Set For Release From ISS - Space in Africa
Rwanda’s first satellite in Space, RwaSat-1, is set to be deployed to low Earth orbit (LEO) from the International Space […]
africanews.space
Rwanda’s first satellite in Space, RwaSat-1, is set to be deployed to low Earth orbit (LEO) from the International Space Station(ISS) on 18 November 2019.
The satellite built by a team of Rwandan engineers with support and supervision from the University of Tokyo was launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center on Tuesday, 24 September before arriving the ISS on Saturday, 28 September.
The 10 x 10 cm Cubesat weighing less than 1.2 kg was designed for space research to help the Rwandan government monitor water resources, natural disasters, agriculture and meteorology, according to Rwandan officials during the official unveiling ceremony of the satellite at the Transform Africa Summit held on 16 May 2019.
During a recent joint press conference organised by the Rwanda Utility and Regulatory Authority (RURA), the Rwanda Ministry of ICT & Innovation, and the Japanese Embassy, Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Nyirishema, RURA Director-General, disclosed the deployment details of the Cubesat.
According to him, about 50 Rwandan engineers have undergone training in space technologies. He also added that lean satellite technologies are the future and Rwanda plans to engage actively in shaping that future.
Minister for ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire said that the partnership between Rwanda and Japan has since benefited many Rwandans by offering opportunities for Rwandan engineers to have access to the University of Tokyo’s laboratories for assembly, integration and testing of the RWASat-1.
RWASat-1 will relay information to remote ground stations in Kigali via the two onboard multispectral cameras to analysed and utilised by the Ministry of Agriculture and agricultural institutions for urban planning and natural resources exploration, and for making informed decisions in predicting crop yield and monitoring of soil moisture.
In the past, Rwanda depended on other countries and private companies for geospatial data. Officials say that having a satellite, which is part of the National Space Program, will significantly reduce the cost of acquiring data.
UN:" This guy's is spending the peoples money on obvious distractions that won't produce anything."
IMF: "We will not grande you any additional aid unless you comply with our demands"
Euro: "Placing emphasis on trending programs without any plan will just be wasted money with no product to show for it."
Rwanda: "Go fuck yourself"
Anyway Rwanda has a space program they have already prepared it for orbit and it will be launching from the international space station on NOv.18th, as you ca see in the article, it's expected to do many things, and was created by 50 Rwanda engineers which were able to test the satellite in Japans labs.
Rwanda is also working on tis own labs and plans to launch an small experimental rocket into space before the end of the year but no time was given. The idea is to eventually launch a domestic made rocket into space with a human on board.
Also, announced the the same time as the initial Satellite announcement a good while ago, Rwanda is working on a learning center focusing on atmospheric and space technology and will be training many people to become professors.
Of course if you listened to the Media this isn't happening and it's just some crazy guy wasting the countries treasury producing nothing. Even though we clearly see it's happening.
I must say, from the Rwanda tech hubs, to the phones, expanding other cities in the country outside the capital, the new road project, Drone program, and other projects, it's crazy how far this country has come from being a post-genocide war zone that has nearly no infrastructure left, 2 hospitals, barely any schools, broken roads, and only a few small urban areas, and a high starvation and low life expectancy rate, to now.
Also taking a cue from Ghana Rwanda is looking into possible making it's own vehicles. Rwanda will also be selling it's new phones to surrounding countries Angola, Kenya, and others like Tanzania and Nigeria scheduled for later.
But apparently investing all this money on innovation and infrastructure improvements is a bad thing so we should be very mad that they keep being successful damn it.