Over the years, observation satellites have demonstrated their importance in data collection for effective decision-making. In Africa, which has possibly the lowest number of observation satellites, they can accelerate in several sectors, including agriculture.

Zimbabwe's Zimsat-1 and Uganda's PearlAfricaSat-1 nano-satellites are slated to be launched into space on November 6, 2022. They will be launched from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Commercial Space Launch Facility in Virginia. Zimbabwe and Uganda have finalized preparations for the launch, we learn.

 The nano-satellites will fly aboard the Northrop Grumman (NG-18 Cygnus), which will deliver them to the International Space Station (ISS). Then, they will be deployed into orbit. 

According to Melissa Gaskil of the International Space Station Program Research Office at the Johnson Space Center,  "the statistical data collected could help distinguish bare ground from forest and farmland and possibly indicate the quality of agricultural growth."

They could therefore help improve the livelihoods of the citizens of Uganda and Zimbabwe, she added.

The launch of the first Zimbabwean and Ugandan satellites is part of the 5th phase of the joint global multi-nation Birds project (BIRDS-5 project). It is a constellation of two 1U CubeSats (Zimsat-1 and PearlAfricaSat-1) and the 2U CubeSat (TAKA) developed by Japan, which will also be launched into space with African equipment. Fourteen countries have already participated in the BIRDS program, launched in 2015 and led by the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech).

BIRDS also introduces students from developing countries to satellite development, laying the groundwork for similar space technology projects in their home countries for future sustainable space programs.

“BIRDS-5 performs multispectral observations of the Earth using a commercial camera and demonstrates a high-energy electronic measuring instrument,” we learn. 

Muriel Edjo