Africa has entered the space race: Ghana’s first satellite, launched into space in June, is now operational.
The Cube Sat miniaturized satellite, dubbed Ghana Sat-1, was built by at All Nations University College (ANUC), with support from the Japanese Birds program.
Delivered via Space X rocket to NASA’s International Space Station in June, the satellite was released into the cosmos on July 7.
Its two-fold mission includes monitoring environmental activity along Ghana’s coast and serving as an educational tool.
“We want to use it to integrate satellite technology into high school curriculum,” project manager Richard Damoah, a Ghanaian professor and assistant research scientist at NASA, told Tech Crunch.
Ghana-Sat 1 will transmit a signal to a ground station at ANUC’s Space Systems and Technology Laboratory—where the satellite was initially developed by engineers Benjamin Bonsu, Ernest Teye Matey, and Joseph Quansah.
While the satellite did not receive official Ghanaian government support, President Nana Akufo-Addo lauded the local scientists‘ efforts and achievements.
Instead, Tech Crunch reported, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) came to Ghana’s aid, providing most of the resources and training required for the two-year, $500,000 project.
Ghana is one of a handful of non-space faring countries—including Mongolia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh—supported by Japan’s Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project.
“It has opened the door for us to do a lot of activities from space,” Damoah told the BBC. Birds “also help[s] train the upcoming generation on how to apply satellites in different activities,” like monitoring illegal mining in the region, he added.
The 2.2-pound GhanaSat-1, which generates power from solar cells and built-in batteries, does more than survey: Low- and high-resolution cameras allow it to snap photos of the country’s coastline. But it also broadcasts Ghana’s national anthem and takes song requests for play in space.
The satellite, meanwhile, will be used to measure the effects of radiation in space on commercial microprocessors.
Neither NASA nor ANUC immediately responded to Geek’s request for comment.
Veteran Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene wrote a few words for the BBC on whether this new satellite will improve the local attitude toward science.
The Cube Sat miniaturized satellite, dubbed Ghana Sat-1, was built by at All Nations University College (ANUC), with support from the Japanese Birds program.
Delivered via Space X rocket to NASA’s International Space Station in June, the satellite was released into the cosmos on July 7.
Its two-fold mission includes monitoring environmental activity along Ghana’s coast and serving as an educational tool.
“We want to use it to integrate satellite technology into high school curriculum,” project manager Richard Damoah, a Ghanaian professor and assistant research scientist at NASA, told Tech Crunch.
Ghana-Sat 1 will transmit a signal to a ground station at ANUC’s Space Systems and Technology Laboratory—where the satellite was initially developed by engineers Benjamin Bonsu, Ernest Teye Matey, and Joseph Quansah.
While the satellite did not receive official Ghanaian government support, President Nana Akufo-Addo lauded the local scientists‘ efforts and achievements.
Instead, Tech Crunch reported, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) came to Ghana’s aid, providing most of the resources and training required for the two-year, $500,000 project.
Ghana is one of a handful of non-space faring countries—including Mongolia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh—supported by Japan’s Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project.
“It has opened the door for us to do a lot of activities from space,” Damoah told the BBC. Birds “also help[s] train the upcoming generation on how to apply satellites in different activities,” like monitoring illegal mining in the region, he added.
The 2.2-pound GhanaSat-1, which generates power from solar cells and built-in batteries, does more than survey: Low- and high-resolution cameras allow it to snap photos of the country’s coastline. But it also broadcasts Ghana’s national anthem and takes song requests for play in space.
The satellite, meanwhile, will be used to measure the effects of radiation in space on commercial microprocessors.
Neither NASA nor ANUC immediately responded to Geek’s request for comment.
Veteran Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene wrote a few words for the BBC on whether this new satellite will improve the local attitude toward science.