THE SPACE IN BETWEEN WE USED TO DREAM REGISTRATION
THE SPACE IN BETWEEN WE USED TO DREAM SOFTWARE

However, NASRDA, given the mandate to oversee space activities in Nigeria, dominates satellite launches in Africa with ten satellite launches, space policies and operations among others, and operates through various sub-centres and laboratories around the country.

THE SPACE IN BETWEEN WE USED TO DREAM SOFTWARE

While, other countries are making efforts to advance in space exploration, Nigeria, despite establishing and investing billions of naira on the development of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) is redundant.Ĭurrently, Nigeria has three functional satellites that are orbiting the earth, delivering important data and driving social-economic development across various sectors of the country’s economy.įrom an analysis, technology companies in Nigeria are doing a lot, varying from backend programming to payment platforms, software development, robotics, internet of things, artificial intelligence and many more, which were spinoffs of space exploration and commercial markets.

THE SPACE IN BETWEEN WE USED TO DREAM REGISTRATION

Of these 19 States, 15 have signed the Outer Space Treaty, 14 have signed the Rescue Agreement, 12 have signed the Liability Convention, four have signed the Registration Convention, and only Morocco has signed the Moon Agreement. It is estimated that by 2024, at least 19 African countries would have launched a satellite and the total number of African satellites would reach 110.Īccording to the 2020 industry report, satellite programmes on the continent faced great hurdles in terms of proper budgetary allocations, disruption in production and logistics, and unstable international outlook as a result of COVID-19.Īs of July 2020, 19 African countries have established or began the process of creating a space programme. With more satellites being developed by institutions across the continent, more African countries are joining the league.

In the same year, governments and institutions from five African countries launched eight new satellites, bringing the total number of African satellites to arrive in orbit to 41, while the number of African countries with at least one satellite in space increased to 11. In its 2019 industry report, Space in Africa reported that the industry was over $7 billion of annual revenues and projected it to grow at a 7.3 per cent compound annual growth rate to exceed $10 billion by 2024.Īccording to analysis, 2019 was the best year in the history of the African space industry with over $717 million spent on satellite projects. The United States (U.S.) has also recorded major breakthrough in her plans to send tourists to space with the splashing down of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico on August 2, successfully completing a test flight and crossing the finish line of the decade-long commercial crew programme.Īccording to the 2020 African Space Industry Annual Report, made available to The Guardian by Space in Africa, which provided analyses on the growing demand for space technologies and data on the continent, Africa has spent over $4 billion on satellite development and launch so far.ĭespite the ongoing global pandemic, Africa invested more money in space and satellite industry in 2020, as demand for space data continued to increase at an exponential rate on the continent. Indeed, in recent times several countries, including United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and China, have made giant strides in the race to space. Ogbonnaya Onu, had in 2016, announced plans by Nigeria to send an astronaut into space by 2030, as part of its drive to develop a world-class space industry.

Space exploration used to be a luxurious show of technological might between the United States of America and the defunct Soviet Union until developed nations realised the potential of space technology in addressing real-life challenges and improving the conditions of living on earth.ĭeveloping nations, including Nigeria, followed suit, committing their limited resources at a smaller but significant scale to exploit outer space programmes for socio-economic gains, as well as national pride among the committee of nations.

The space in between we used to dream