Kenya launched its first
operational earth observation satellite on Saturday onboard a SpaceX rocket
from the United States, a live feed from Elon Musk's rocket company showed.
The
satellite, developed by nine Kenyan engineers, will collect agricultural and
environmental data, including on floods, drought and wildfires, that
authorities plan to use for disaster management and to combat food insecurity.
The Falcon 9 rocket
carrying the Taifa-1 satellite, took off at about 0648 GMT without incident
from Vandenberg Base in California, after three postponements due to bad
weather.
"Taifa-1
separation confirmed," Space X said in its broadcast when the satellite
was released about an hour and four minutes after the rocket's launch.
"We have the challenges that have been brought
about by climate change, which the satellite, by virtue of being able to
capture images (will be able to help monitor)", Capt. Alloyce Were, an aeronautical engineer and
deputy director of Navigation and Positioning at the government-run Kenya Space
Agency, told Reuters on Friday before the satellite's launch.
"We can monitor forest changes, we can monitor
urbanisation changes."
The
satellite was put together with the help of Bulgarian aerospace company
Endurosat at a cost of 50 million Kenyan shillings ($372,000) over two years,
the space agency said.
The
agency says it will operate for five years and then decay over 20 years,
entering the atmosphere and burning out.
The
launch rocket had 50 payloads from other countries, including Turkey, under
SpaceX's rideshare programme.
Source:
Reuters
