Senegal will launch its very first satellite into space in 2023. The project is the result of an MoU signed two years ago with the National Center for Space Studies of France and Ariane Group.
In a recent interview with Le Quotidien, Gayane Faye (pictured) said three students from local engineering schools were sent last year to the Montpellier Space Center for training in space science, as part of the project. Faye is the head of the applied remote sensing lab of the Institute of Earth Sciences (IST) at Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD),
According to him, 10 more people, including 5 technicians and 5 engineers, will be sent to Montpellier. The trainees will be in charge of building Senegal’s nanosatellite. Construction is expected to start in March next year. The launch of this equipment was initially scheduled for this year but the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the process, Faye said.
“After this is done, we will work on larger satellites, with other applications, processing and use of data,” he added. The government will use the data collected by the nanosatellite to better monitor bush fires, floods, and erosion, and to develop agriculture.
The project also includes the design, development, and construction of a Center for satellites weighing less than 50 kg (CubeSat). Ultimately, the government aims to create a genuine local ecosystem of scientific research and industrial innovation in the space sector, in partnership with universities and companies.
Muriel Edjo
• Côte d’Ivoire signs $156.8M farm deal with Italy’s BF Group• 10,000-hectare project aims to c...
• Safaricom’s M-PESA Fintech 2.0 upgrade lifts capacity to 6,000 transactions per second, scalable t...
M-KOPA sold 1.3M smartphones in 2025, reaching 6.4M devices sold since 2020. 42% of buyers got th...
Masiyiwa’s Cassava to invest $720m in 5 AI factories, bringing 15k GPUs for Africa’s data sov...
The EU pledged €359.4m to build Côte d’Ivoire’s 400-kV Dorsale Est line, boosting capacity an...
• United Airlines will increase Marrakech–New York flights to four per week in Oct.• The route may reach daily service during year-end peak demand.•...
• Congo’s parliament is expected to approve a new gas code in October 2025.• The law aims to attract investment with new fiscal and regulatory measures.•...
• AfDB chief Sidi Ould Tah met BOAD president Serge Ekué in Abidjan on Aug. 30.• Talks focused on joint efforts to attract private investment for major...
Morocco’s tourism revenue reached $9.6 bln in the first eight months of 2025, up 14%. The country welcomed 13.5 mln visitors in the same...
The city of Kilwa, located on the southeastern coast of Tanzania, represents one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of the Indian Ocean....
• JICA cancels Africa exchange program after viral immigration rumors• Misreport claimed Japan would grant visas to Nigerians in Kisarazu• Elon Musk’s...