A satellite developed by the University of Nairobi and University of Rome has been launched from an International Space Station in Florida, U.S to observe farming trends.
The launch was on April 2.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monicah Juma termed it a milestone for Kenya.
“This is a milestone in Kenya’s exploration into space,” said the CS according to the Star.
The selected team working on the satellite was first announced during TICAD VI as the first beneficiary of the KiboCUBE Programme-an initiative that offers educational and research institutions from developing countries.
It also offers a platform to deploy cube satellites (CubeSats) from the Japanese Kibo module of the International Space Station (ISS).
The Kenyan Cube Satellite model was developed under the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which is Japan’s national aero-space agency.
On January 16, 2018, it was handed to JAXA in prepareation for its deployment to space which happened on April 2.
The Satellite has been named as the “First Kenya University Nano Satellite-Precursor Flight (1KUNS-PF)” by the University of Nairobi.
With the launch, Kenya hopes to acquire more collaborations and initiatives through the KiboCUBE Programme.
“Kenya is very proud to be associated with and involved, through TICAD VI, in the development of the satellite. We hope this is only a beginning of many collaborations and initiatives for Kenya under the KiboCUBE programme,” Juma added.
Another deployment of the satellite is set to take place in May.