Uganda is set to have its first Satellite launched into Space this year tentatively on 6th November.
The PearlAfrica Sat-1 will be launched by US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island in Virginia.
The program began way back in 2020 under the Joint Global Multi-Nation BIRDS Satellite project, a cross-border interdisciplinary Satellite project for non-space faring countries initiated by Kyusu Institute of Technology in Japan.
The program is aimed at providing hands-on training to selected students in Satellite designing, manufacturing and testing. Three Ugandan students successfully graduated from the program and embarked on the task of developing a Satellite that awaits launching.
A team of three Ugandan engineers, Edgar Mujuni, Derrick Tebusweke and Bonny Omara successfully completed working on a 10-cubic meter Satellite named as PearlAfrica Sat-1 and handed it over to Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency for final testing.
“These students completed the development of the Satellite, and this morning we remotely participated in an event at the Prime Minister’s office where the government of Uganda, represented by the nation’s Ambassador in Japan, handed over this Satellite to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency to finalize some tests and those tests will be done in in five days and then it will await launch with other satellites by NASA, ” said the Dr. Monica Musenero the, Minister of Science and Technology.
This launch which was expected to take place on 28th September, was later postponed citing unfavorable weather conditions and set 28th October and has now been rescheduled for 6th November 2022.
The Satellite contains a multi-spectral camera which will provide 20-metre resolution images for Uganda. The Satellite will also help in accurate weather forecasting, land use and cover analysis for Uganda, Oil and gas exploration and will also be used to monitor the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
The satellite signals will be received by a ground Station at Mpoma in Mukono which will be under Uganda People Defense Forces (UPDF), Uganda Telecommunication Limited (UTL) and the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Space program.
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