Page 80 - SAMENA Trends - March 2020

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Egypt Advances Space Program with 10-Year Plan

Egypt is advancing its goals in space, and climate change mitigation. Later this to develop its space program, signing
following approval last week of a 10-year year, the Egyptian Space Agency plans a new cooperation deal in January with
development plan for the Egyptian Space training sessions for 20 participants from France’s Center National d’Etudes Spatiale
Agency (EgSA) established in August. The African nations who are part of a project (CNES). Jean-Yves Le Gal, head of CNES,
agency launched its first communications to use space technology to better control said the partnership will include satellite
satellite in November, as part of a plan to greenhouse gas emissions. Egypt partners manufacture and space exploration.
ensure mobile and Internet services for all with nations including China and France
of Egypt as well as parts of neighboring
countries. It was one of four satellites
launched successfully last year, according
to Space in Africa. The agency has two
satellite control centers, one in Cairo and
another in Aswan, and is host to the African
Space Agency established by the African
Union. Dr. Mohamed ElKoosy, the EgSA CEO,
says Egypt plans another two satellites in
the next three years, and plans to build a
NGEO constellation similar to the Starlink
project in the coming years. SpaceX signed
a deal in January with Egyptian operator
NileSat to launch a four-ton satellite in
2022 to support communications. ElKoosy
says Egypt’s program is geared toward
security, but also focuses on weather

Rwanda Launches First-Ever Satellite

to Connect Schools in Rural Area to
the Internet

The government of Rwanda and a UK-based company OneWeb
has launched the first-ever satellite that will connect remote
schools in the country to the internet. According to Face 2 Face
Africa, many schools in the rural parts of Rwanda are without
proper road networks and electricity, making it difficult to acquire
internet connectivity. The New Times reports that the satellite was
sent into orbit on March 25, from a spaceport on the Atlantic coast
of French Guiana. Ahead of the launch, Rwanda's ICT Minister,
Paula Ingabire, had said: “Rwanda’s choice to invest in space
technologies is part of our broader mission to bridge the digital
divide by providing equal digital opportunities to rural and remote
communities. “We are delighted to partner with OneWeb in this
transformative initiative which presents us a huge opportunity
to leverage satellite connectivity, using OneWeb’s constellation,
providing low-latency and high-speed internet to schools in
remote communities of Rwanda."

80 MARCH 2020