Establishing Space Industry in Rwanda

It was unheard of for less developed countries a few years ago to send the satellite in space, as it required a high degree of financial muscle. In 2017 Rwanda revealed its intention to launch its own satellite into the orbit. It became global news. However, it was only in November last year that the government sent the opening satellite into space with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

This year in May, the Government adopted a bill setting up the Rwandan Space Agency (RSA), which marked yet another step towards advancement in technology for earth observation. Rwanda was one of the few countries to be able to do this when in November it sent the first CubeSat to the Orbit, known as RWASAT-1. From the orbit, the information should be forwarded to ground stations by RWASAT-1, which agricultural institutions are to make informed decisions to predict crop yields and to monitor soil humidity. In addition to two multispectral cameras on board, RWASAT-1 has antennas to communicate with deployed ground sensors in Rwanda. 

RSA will be well-positioned to establish strategic alliances with Rwanda to create national capacity for space technology growth. Yves Hategekimana, a research scientist from Rwanda at the Chinese academy of sciences’ Aerospace Information Research Institute, says Rwanda is privileged to launch satellites into space. This is because it claims that Rwanda can collect information through satellites without relying on a third party, which takes time and costs. 

The Agreement was signed at the current Transform Africa Summit between the Regulatory Authority for Rwandan Utilities (RURA) and the Representative of Takayoshi Fukuyo, Director of the Space Edge Lab, on the Japanese side. (SEL), University of Tokyo Laboratories Professor Shinichi Nakasuka and Dr Ryosuke Shibasaki. Previously, according to available figures, it would take up to 500 million dollars to put a satellite in space.

Only countries such as Russia, the United States, China and Japan could afford space technology, giving them the benefit of manipulating many world agendas. Several countries with active orbited satellites are Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria. On 24 September 2019, RWASAT-1 started in orbit at Japan (Earth) from the Tanegashima Spaceport and on 20 November 2019 from the International Space Station.

Data Source: Space in Africa