[DIGITAL Business Africa] – Historic moment in the Republic of Djibouti. The country, in turn, joined the conquest of space, after the launch of its first operational satellite called “Djibouti 1-A”, Saturday November 11, 2023. “Djibouti 1-A” put into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket of the society SpaceX. It was designed and developed by a team of Djiboutian researchers. The launch was carried out from Vandenberg Space Station, California. “Djibouti 1-A” was designed by Djiboutian engineers. The tool will allow the real-time transmission of data from stations distributed throughout the territory (areas without internet coverage and sometimes difficult to access) such as climatological and seismic stations.
Placed in orbit at an altitude of 520 km, Djibouti-1A will also provide climatological data to the CERD (Djibouti Study and Research Center). For Nabil Mohamed Ahmed, Djibouti Minister of Higher Education and Research, Djibouti-1A also has a security aspect.
“This satellite will help the country fight, among other things, against climate change and food insecurity. Its contribution will be useful in “the real-time transmission of data from stations distributed throughout the territory (areas without internet coverage and sometimes difficult to access) such as climatological and seismic stations”, explains Nabil Mohamed Ahmed, Djibouti Minister of Higher Education and Research.
In 2020, the Head of State of Djibouti, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, did not hide his ambition to have a nano-satellite developed by a Djiboutian team. Two partnership agreements between MENSUR and the University of Montpellier were signed in 2020 then 2021 for reception, training and technology transfer. The Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MENSUR) was therefore tasked with coordinating this project. Thanks to this partnership, 10 Djiboutian students were able to benefit from training in “Assembly Integration Tests” and Development of Space Systems. Training leading to bachelor’s degrees.
At the end of this training, the 10 students were installed in the CSUM premises to begin the design and then the production of our first satellite. Now in 2021, a year later, this first nano-satellite has taken shape. If we talk about a vettion A this means that there will be another one. Djibouti-1B is therefore being finalized. It should be delivered in January 2024 for takeoff scheduled for March 2024.
By Jean Materne Zambo
