ADF STAFF
The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) is working on using satellite technology to improve the lives of Kenyans.
Brig. Hillary Kipkosgey, acting director of the KSA, said it has invested significantly in projects such as Monitoring for Decisions using Space Technologies to track forest cover, urbanization and for help in planning disaster management.
“KSA believes that space science, technology and applications have the potential to spur economic growth,” Kipkosgey told a gathering during Kenya Innovation Week (KIW) in December 2022 at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi.
He gave his keynote address during a KIW sideline event known as the Africa Earth Observation Challenge, an annual continental innovation contest aimed at finding new ways to use satellite monitoring technology. In 2022, Kenya’s agriBORA won first prize in the challenge. The agriBORA project uses technology including satellite data to help farmers increase productivity and reduce risk.
“Earth Observation provides reliable, real-time information to support environmental monitoring, which is vital for informed decision-making,” Kipkosgey said during his address.
The agency is involved in initiatives to spur space development. It was one of three national agencies selected by the United Nations to launch a remote-sensing payload that will fly onboard the International Space Station (pictured above) to monitor weather and the effects of natural disasters.
Kenya also is collaborating with five other African countries as part of the African Development Satellite Initiative. The program aims to build capacity in space systems engineering and space operations by developing a small satellite, Kipkosgey said.
“I wish to encourage African states to also embrace the joint pursuit of accessing space for sustainable development through regional initiatives,” Kipkosgey said during a 2022 address in Vienna to the U.N.’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
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