Ethiopia has made bold plans to launch its third Earth observation satellite by 2026 as part of its continuous efforts to improve its space technology capabilities.
This project is expected to strengthen the nation’s capacity to track environmental shifts, advance agricultural planning, and aid in disaster relief.
The Ethiopian Space Science and Geospatial Institute (ESGI) made this known to local media on Monday, noting that the satellite would be launched with the aid of China.
The new satellite is also expected to perform better than the previous two, ETRSS-01, which was sent to space in December 2019, and the ET-SMART-RSS, which was launched on December 22, 2020.
While the second satellite completed its targeted service life of at least one year, ETRSS-01 exceeded its expected lifespan by nine months; both spacecraft were launched with Chinese assistance.
Compared to its predecessors, which are nearing the end of their operational lives, the new satellite will provide better image quality.
Tesfaye Fufa, executive director of ESGI’s Satellite Monitoring Department, affirmed that launch preparations are currently under way.
The agreement’s financial terms with China, however, have not been made public, as seen on Sputnik.
Recent space programs in Africa
Very recently, Zimbabwe announced the launch of its third observation satellite, the ZimSat-3, just a few months after announcing the launch of its second satellite (ZimSat-2).
Zimbabwe launched ZimSat-2 in November. The launch had initially hit a minor roadblock in an attempt to launch in May.
Late in 2023, Tanzania’s historic satellite launch into space was made possible with the acquisition of a vital orbital slot.
In May of the same year, President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced the country’s plans to create its space program.
A year later, Tanzania announced plans to establish the country’s first-ever Space Agency in the 2024/2025 fiscal year.
According to consultancy firm Space Hubs Africa, the continent will have successfully launched at least 52 satellites by the end of 2022.
Africa has an ambitious plan to increase the number of satellites sent into Earth’s orbit during the next several years.
