Convinced that Space Science is critical in the development of any nation, Nigeria has completed work in the building of two more earth observation satellites, NigeriaSat 2 and Nigeria Sat X, said Seidu Mohammed, the Director General of National Space Research and Development Agency, NASRDA.

Mr. Mohammed, who stated that the satellites will be due for launch on October 2010, adding that specifically, the Nigeria Sat X was designed and built by 27 Nigerian Engineers.

“Satellite projects, like building projects, are in phases. We have finished most of the phases. The spacecraft are now ready. The Nigerian engineers were there to design and implement Sat X and they have done that and are back home.

“The next stage is to move the satellite to the site for launch. It takes a lot of time, the launching company has to look through its programme, get itself ready and by October, the satellite will be launched,” he said.

He further stated when the two satellites are eventually launched, they will impact positively on agriculture, defence, and almost all other sectors of the Nigerian economy.

“The fact that Nigerian Engineers designed and built Sat X brings confidence into us that it is possible here. We are going to provide data for efficient agriculture all over Nigeria, and the launch of Sat 2 with 2.5m resolution enables all cities to go ahead with cadastral plan to have information to increase their revenue, as Lagos State is doing now, and provide enough information about cultural development in terms of soil characterisation, water resources development, road corridor selection, and so on,” Mr. Mohammed said.

He also noted that Nigeria’s foray into the space science and technology world has enabled the development of a critical mass of space engineers, revealing that 15 engineers were trained for NigeriaSat, which will expire by December 2010. 54 were trained for NIGCOMSAT-1, while 27 were trained for Sat 2 and Sat X, with an additional 25 Scientists trained in geospatial application.

He added that it was only right for Nigeria to build its own satellite, considering the huge capital outflow to source satellite data. He said that today, space technologies have become integrated into everyday life, so deeply that modern and traditional societies cannot function without them.

“Survey conducted by NASRDA in 2004 showed that capital out-flow paid by African countries for their international telephone traffic is about $445 million per year, hence making tariff on communications the highest in Africa than in any other continent. Nigeria alone pays as much as $200 million per year to lease satellite transponders,” he said.

The Director General insisted that the space technology will help in addressing some environmental concerns in Nigeria.

“As a result of recent trends of earthquake in Haiti, Chile, Japan, and China and recent trends in crustal deformation in Nigeria, as evident by tremors in the country and continuous monitoring of Ife-Wara-Zungeru faults in Nigeria, the International Astronomy Agency, IAA, has approved the first expert study for Africa at the request of NASRDA,” he said.

“By this request, IAA is expected to put experts together all over the world to study the equatorial plane for the benefit of the countries within the equatorial region.”

Link:

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5560312-146/nigerian-built_satellites_for_launch_in_october.csp

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