Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Mário de Oliveira, assured this Tuesday, in Luanda, that the concession of the Angolan meteorology satellite is in the pipeline, with a view to strengthening weather and climate monitoring in the National territory.
When speaking at the ministerial panel, as part of the III edition of NewSpace Africa (African Space Conference 2024), which takes place from the 2nd to the 5th of this month, in Luanda, the government official said that, in addition to the meteorology satellite, Angola will move to the earth observation satellite, taking into account the extent of the national territory.
“Currently, we already have the concession of a meteorology satellite in the pipeline, but we are going to move on to the earth observation satellite, because our country is extensive and has a great potential for natural resources, with emphasis on oil, agriculture and the environment. ”, he highlighted.
For this challenge, the minister considered the collaboration of academia to be important, which must play a crucial role in achieving the recommended goals, which include the concession of the observation and meteorology satellite.
On the other hand, the minister pointed to the creation of the African Space Agency as an important sign for the development of this industry, which is beginning to show its first results.
At the national level, Mário de Oliveira recalled that the Angolan Government began taking its first steps 15 years ago, in collaboration with international partners, aimed at developing the Angolan space industry.
This undertaking, he continued, allowed the creation of the National Space Program, which culminated in the placement of a communications satellite (Angosat-2) into orbit, with the contribution of national staff trained in major international universities.
For his part, the former Minister of Higher Education of Burkina Faso and Leader of the BurkinaSat-1 Project, Fréderic Ouattara, highlighted that his country has local capacity focused on space issues.
The person responsible highlighted the existence of three axes linked to poverty reduction, through training in training schools with special segments and the use of data, qualifying students.
He added that the other axis is focused on assembling complements, to have a satellite, testing and launch, as well as the ground station that was already designed with the involvement of university students. Professional training and degrees, involving internships, are also included in the strategy.
On the occasion, the acting president of Egypt’s National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Islam Abou El-magd, stated that his country is somewhat advanced in the special program, particularly in the land issue.
He pointed out that the advances recorded in space technology essentially concern infrastructures.
He mentioned that the existing facilities in Egypt are available to share with other African institutions linked to the space area.
“We can produce satellites that can be launched, just needing to strengthen these infrastructures. We have different laboratories that support the different space stations,” she assured.
He added that, in the academic and human resources areas, more than 400 space programs were created in the country, which will allow the creation of the space ecosystem available for Egypt and the continent.
The III edition of NewSpace Africa is the continent’s largest space event organized by Space in Africa, in partnership with the African Union and the National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN), bringing together decision-makers, government representatives, academia and industry leaders. African space industry, in an environment that will seek to analyze the role of space in reducing the poverty gap.
The event has a stand from NASA (US Space Agency), the European Space Agency (ESA), SANSA (South Africa) and KSA (Kenya).
The event also brings together representatives from 54 countries, with emphasis on emissaries from NASA, the European space agency, as well as Russia and China.
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