National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to launch Uganda’s first satellite into space today. The satellite will be launched from the International Space Station in Kazakhstan.
PearlAfricaSat-1, the first satellite ever launched by Uganda, is set to be launched today, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA). The activity was moved from yesterday to today, Monday, November 7, 2022.
According to NASA, the launch was rescheduled to today because of a fire alarm that went off at the mission operations control center in Dulles, Virginia. Dr. Monica Musenero, Uganda’s minister for science, technology, and innovation, confirmed that the satellite will be launched today at 1:27 EAT.
Update: Today’s planned #CRS18 launch has been scrubbed due to a fire alarm at the mission operations control center in Dulles, Virginia. Liftoff of the Cygnus spacecraft is now set for Nov. 7 at 5:27am ET (10:27 UTC). We’ll go live at 5am: https://t.co/Lxw6lLfGZ2 https://t.co/7iOGLi0yoB
— NASA (@NASA) November 6, 2022
When the satellite is launched, according to her, it will contribute to the provision of research and observation data in six main areas, including, among other things, weather forecasting, mapping of the land, water, and minerals, monitoring of agriculture, infrastructure planning, border security, and disaster prevention.
About the PearlAfricaSat-1
Three Engineers from Uganda, including Edgar Mujuni, Bonny Omara, and Derrick Tebusweke, developed the PearlAfricaSat-1 Cube satellite.
It was then delivered to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for final inspections before being given to NASA on May 18, 2022, for transportation to the International Space Station, from where it is planned to be launched into lower earth orbit before the end of 2022.
The PearlAfricaSat-1 satellite was built for the purpose of providing data for research and observation in six key areas. These fields include forecasting the weather, mapping the land, water, and minerals, monitoring agriculture, planning the infrastructure, border security, and preventing disasters.
Additionally, Uganda is constructing an Earth Station at Mpoma, Mukono, where Ugandans will be able to command, control, and manage our satellite from within the country.
Uganda also plans to build a second satellite there while also training upcoming local engineers. By the end of 2024, Uganda intends to launch this second satellite into orbit.
If this launch is successful, Uganda will launch its first satellite into orbit, joining the other 12 African nations in the race for space technology. According to NASA, the upcoming launch is scheduled for today (Nov 7 2022 ). For more information, let’s keep an eye on UBC and NASA.
