The satellite was onboard a SpaceX rocket that launched from the U.S. on Saturday.
Kenya launched its first operational earth observation satellite on Saturday onboard a SpaceX rocket from the United States, a live feed from Elon Musk’s rocket company showed.
The satellite, developed by nine Kenyan engineers, will collect agricultural and environmental data, including on floods, drought, and wildfires, that authorities plan to use for disaster management and to combat food insecurity.
The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Taifa-1 satellite, took off at about 0648 GMT without incident from Vandenberg Base in California, after three postponements due to bad weather.
SpaceX on X (formerly Twitter): “Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/oDuGFqoiDL / X”
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/oDuGFqoiDL
“Taifa-1 separation confirmed,” Space X said in its broadcast when the satellite was released about an hour and four minutes after the rocket’s launch.
SpaceX on X (formerly Twitter): “Stage separation confirmed pic.twitter.com/VKoLzjzVv2 / X”
Stage separation confirmed pic.twitter.com/VKoLzjzVv2
The satellite was put together with the help of Bulgarian aerospace company Endurosat at a cost of 50 million Kenyan shillings (USD 372,000) over two years, the space agency said. The agency added that it will operate for five years and then decay over 20 years, entering the atmosphere and burning out.
