Nigeria's quest for a presence in space moved closer to realisation this week with the signing of an agreement with British satellite company, Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), for Nigeriasat-2.
The Nigeriasat-2 agreement will furnish Nigeria with an earth observation satellite and related ground infrastructure to further establish a national indigenous space capability.
The signing of the contract with SSTL is a bold step for Nigeria in the development of a national space plan, building upon the existing Nigeriasat-1 earth observation micro-satellite supplied by SSTL in 2003.
Nigeria's National Space Research and Development Agency's (NASRDA) selection of SSTL followed a detailed technical evaluation and due diligence exercise undertaken by NASRDA's procurement advisor, Telesat of Canada. It confirmed the UK company's position as the leading supplier of advanced operational small satellites.
The new 300kg satellite will be launched into a low earth orbit and will provide Nigeria with valuable geographically referenced high-resolution satellite imaging for applications in mapping, water resources management, agricultural land use, population estimation, health hazard monitoring, and disaster mitigation and management.
Robert Ajayi Boroffice, director-general of NASRDA, explained that once the satellite is in orbit, it would send down high-resolution data in the panchromatic and multi-spectral modes. The spacecraft, according to him, will also send down 32m resolution data in the multi-spectral mode, towards ensuring continuity of Nigeriasat-1 in orbit. Because of the high volume of data expected from the Nigeriasat-2, a 7.2m dish would be installed at the mission control centre of NASRDA, Boroffice said.
Twenty-five Nigerian engineers will undergo training on the technology in the UK. During the two-and-a-half years of training, the Nigerian engineers at SSTL will design and build a flight suitable training model of the Nigeriasat-2, which will be called Nigeriasat-X.
The training model will be launched as a demonstration of Nigeria's capacity and capability in building future satellites of its kind in Nigeria with little or no supervision.
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