Kenya's Space Ambitions

I made this topic to provide insight to the many to show that kenya could be ready to use the space platform in Malindi many may laugh but who will the joke be on.

In parliament today Mp's are trying to bring a bill that would let kenya to use the San Marco Station to finally launch a satellite in space. It is also believed that the center makes 50miilion dollars a day just tracing satellites for companies all over the world and kenyans have not even tasted a cent of that labor.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/MPs+outraged+by+pact+on+Italian+space+centre+/-/1056/1389306/-/item/1/-/qwkhs0/-/index.html


I know many people in the DoD read what goes on in these blogs and it would be a wasted opportunity if we dont begin to use this station to benefit our country and the entire region.

Forgive my pessimism. First it was Nuclear Energy, Now Space? Our parliament has surely gone to the Dogs.

areba wrote:Forgive my pessimism. First it was Nuclear Energy, Now Space? Our parliament has surely gone to the Dogs.

Our grand parliament is thinking big and this is great for our country we have a ton of smart kenyans abroad who would fit perfectly in both fields and would help bring vision 2030 closer. The space venture has been on the mind of many parliament officials for quite sometime now and its only natural to continue the process and reap the benefits.


Remember a time back when i joined this forum i talked about Kenyans need to develop space based technologies and i was ridiculed and called crazy and what i said will be bearing fruit in the next few years

@cyclon its not an Issue of ability, rather Need. Why do nuclear when we can set up a local PV manufacturing plant and churn out solar panels and do arrays near all major cities., or sing wells and get Geotherm, or ....

areba wrote:@cyclon its not an Issue of ability, rather Need. Why do nuclear when we can set up a local PV manufacturing plant and churn out solar panels and do arrays near all major cities., or sing wells and get Geotherm, or ....

The need would be to generate cheap electricity and to show off to the world that we can achieve nuclear power. The problem with solar panels is that they are not very efficient yet and would just be to expensive for the kenyan consumer to purchase but 5 years or so better and greatly efficient panels will be affordable to every kenyan and would reduce the need for huge solar fields. Geothermal has the potential to generate all of kenya's power into the next century but the problem is that its just to damn expensive to drill until Kenyan companies can start manufacturing drilling platforms geo will always be to expensive generate.

[quote Kepler-Euler]

Another newbie here.

I have observed the discussions here from the sidelines for a while and learned a lot.

I
am a civilian space systems expert a.k.a rocket scientist (I hate that
cliche') so naturally when this topic came up, I had to engage.

The San Marco Italian/ESA (European Space Agency) presents a very interesting prospect.
However, its presence in Malindi can only be beneficial to us in Kenya and the region as a whole after we have
clearly established and understood a couple fundamental of issues... why, when, how and what do we require space-based technology for.

Right
now in Kenya, space-based technology is chiefly enigmatic and
definitely an acutely esoteric domain. Consequently, there lies the
initial challenge to this long journey which we are long overdue to
embark on as a nation.[quote]



Why:We need to develop the sector for both private and civilian use..So that countries in Africa can come to us and we launch their payload into space.

When:Probably in the next five to six years

How: Thru PPP we bring in companies that know the "Right Stuff" and they train our youth, people interested in the field on how to run the station, launch rockets.

What:We need space-based technologies to effectively track weather, conflict zones, communications, security umbrella,Research, etc

cylon wrote:In parliament today Mp's are trying to bring a bill that would let kenya to use the San Marco Station to finally launch a satellite in space.

This bill should have been formulated like ages ago. There is so much to gain as country in space exploration. accurate mapping, projection and forecasting weather patterns, security etc..... The San Marco platform just captures the commercial aspect of this venture. The country needs to introduce education and training aspects in this field at basic levels, first by getting scholarships from friendly countries that are already doing well and then ivesting on these people to train our own. Kenya as country has one of the largest pool of IT savvy populations in Africa and hence to train such in space matters would not be a tall order and the turnaround would also be pretty short. The Multimedia university, Kericho and Longonot earth stations together with the San Marco platform should form the first investments for space research and training for Kenya.

Sierra Kilo wrote:

cylon wrote:In parliament today Mp's are trying to bring a bill that would let kenya to use the San Marco Station to finally launch a satellite in space.

This bill should have been formulated like ages ago. There is so much to gain as country in space exploration. accurate mapping, projection and forecasting weather patterns, security etc..... The San Marco platform just captures the commercial aspect of this venture. The country needs to introduce education and training aspects in this field at basic levels, first by getting scholarships from friendly countries that are already doing well and then investing on these people to train our own. Kenya as country has one of the largest pool of IT savvy populations in Africa and hence to train such in space matters would not be a tall order and the turnaround would also be pretty short. The Multimedia university, Kericho and Longonot earth stations together with the San Marco platform should form the first investments for space research and training for Kenya.

Very well said Sierra Kilo... also do we have any observatories in kenya.. If not then the gava should be putting up funds so universities could take advantage of the science grants and build us eye into the sky ........

I have been bootstrapping science2030, a Kenyan STEM start-up.

We started with robotics clubs in schools in 2010 and later on got funding from Kenya's National Council for Science & technology (NCST) to develop a prototype low-cost low-altitude balloon that can be used by high schools to prove the concept of 'The Higher You Go The Cooler It Becomes', currently under development in cooperation with  Kenya's Meteorological Department's.

Today, we have been invited by Intel Corporation to develop a proposal for a 6-day cansat awareness workshop in early 2013 that will include:

1. A national satellite drawing competition for primary schools
2. A national satellite naming essay competition for secondary schools
3. A cansat assembly and launch participation pitch from universities (only five of the best applicants will be invited to the workshop)

The workshop dovetails into a cubesat mission beginning in 2013 when Kenya commemorates 50 years of independence well behind regional players Nigeria (Western Africa), South Africa (Southern Africa) and Algeria (Northern Africa) all of which have space presence.

Our cubesat mission also incorporates 5 universities each of which will develop a single subsystem of the five subsystems that will be finally integrated into a 3U cubesat. The cubesat will incorporate the following features:

i. A space based advertising platform that will carry 64 logos of Kenya's highest flying brands. Each advertiser will pay Ksh. 2 million. The platform will be developed in collaboration with Swiss-based Micro Camera & Space Exploration (MCSE)

ii. An earth observation camera that will have specially developed overlaying software that all Kenyan school kids can use in comparing the forest cover of the endangered Mau Forest  ecosystem so that these 2 million youth become advocates for its preservation. This will be developed in collaboration with Danish company GomSpace.

The revenue from advertising is enough to launch 2nd and 3rd cubesat missions in the two subsequent years as Kenya's civilian space program gains traction to compete with the military program that will most likely take root as the cubesat create awareness and inspiration among technocrats.

From all the posts in this forum i realize that the human capacity actually resides all over the place and therefore I am inviting all those who might be interested in supporting this through technical input, fundraising, advocacy, etc to join my fledgling team so that we actualize this and profit from it fast, first.

Interestingly, Nation Media Group has also invited us to pitch this at the next technology funding program 'Next Big Thing' that is planned for September 2012. To present a winning pitch we'll need input from knowledgeable people such as those who have been participating in this forum. We therefore invite all of you who feel that Kenya needs to:

1. Develop technological self-confidence in space technology.
2. inspire a generation of young people by getting us out to the final frontier.
3. Ensure  that a smaller neighbour does not tip technology balance in EA by launching first
4. Benefit from technology spin-offs that come with a vibrant space research sector.

We await responses and would be delighted with positive replies.

Allan

allquiry wrote:I have been bootstrapping science2030, a Kenyan STEM start-up.

We started with robotics clubs in schools in 2010 and later on got funding from Kenya's National Council for Science & technology (NCST) to develop a prototype low-cost low-altitude balloon that can be used by high schools to prove the concept of 'The Higher You Go The Cooler It Becomes', currently under development in cooperation with Kenya's Meteorological Department's.

Today, we have been invited by Intel Corporation to develop a proposal for a 6-day cansat awareness workshop in early 2013 that will include:

1. A national satellite drawing competition for primary schools
2. A national satellite naming essay competition for secondary schools
3. A cansat assembly and launch participation pitch from universities (only five of the best applicants will be invited to the workshop)

The workshop dovetails into a cubesat mission beginning in 2013 when Kenya commemorates 50 years of independence well behind regional players Nigeria (Western Africa), South Africa (Southern Africa) and Algeria (Northern Africa) all of which have space presence.

Our cubesat mission also incorporates 5 universities each of which will develop a single subsystem of the five subsystems that will be finally integrated into a 3U cubesat. The cubesat will incorporate the following features:

i. A space based advertising platform that will carry 64 logos of Kenya's highest flying brands. Each advertiser will pay Ksh. 2 million. The platform will be developed in collaboration with Swiss-based Micro Camera & Space Exploration (MCSE)

ii. An earth observation camera that will have specially developed overlaying software that all Kenyan school kids can use in comparing the forest cover of the endangered Mau Forest ecosystem so that these 2 million youth become advocates for its preservation. This will be developed in collaboration with Danish company GomSpace.

The revenue from advertising is enough to launch 2nd and 3rd cubesat missions in the two subsequent years as Kenya's civilian space program gains traction to compete with the military program that will most likely take root as the cubesat create awareness and inspiration among technocrats.

From all the posts in this forum i realize that the human capacity actually resides all over the place and therefore I am inviting all those who might be interested in supporting this through technical input, fundraising, advocacy, etc to join my fledgling team so that we actualize this and profit from it fast, first.

Interestingly, Nation Media Group has also invited us to pitch this at the next technology funding program 'Next Big Thing' that is planned for September 2012. To present a winning pitch we'll need input from knowledgeable people such as those who have been participating in this forum. We therefore invite all of you who feel that Kenya needs to:

1. Develop technological self-confidence in space technology.
2. inspire a generation of young people by getting us out to the final frontier.
3. Ensure that a smaller neighbour does not tip technology balance in EA by launching first
4. Benefit from technology spin-offs that come with a vibrant space research sector.

We await responses and would be delighted with positive replies.

Allan

I am willing to join this noble cause as Kenya begins its first steps into space-based tech..Sign me up

allquiry wrote:I have been bootstrapping science2030, a Kenyan STEM start-up.

We started with robotics clubs in schools in 2010 and later on got funding from Kenya's National Council for Science & technology (NCST) to develop a prototype low-cost low-altitude balloon that can be used by high schools to prove the concept of 'The Higher You Go The Cooler It Becomes', currently under development in cooperation with  Kenya's Meteorological Department's.

Today, we have been invited by Intel Corporation to develop a proposal for a 6-day cansat awareness workshop in early 2013 that will include:

1. A national satellite drawing competition for primary schools
2. A national satellite naming essay competition for secondary schools
3. A cansat assembly and launch participation pitch from universities (only five of the best applicants will be invited to the workshop)

The workshop dovetails into a cubesat mission beginning in 2013 when Kenya commemorates 50 years of independence well behind regional players Nigeria (Western Africa), South Africa (Southern Africa) and Algeria (Northern Africa) all of which have space presence.

Our cubesat mission also incorporates 5 universities each of which will develop a single subsystem of the five subsystems that will be finally integrated into a 3U cubesat. The cubesat will incorporate the following features:

i. A space based advertising platform that will carry 64 logos of Kenya's highest flying brands. Each advertiser will pay Ksh. 2 million. The platform will be developed in collaboration with Swiss-based Micro Camera & Space Exploration (MCSE)

ii. An earth observation camera that will have specially developed overlaying software that all Kenyan school kids can use in comparing the forest cover of the endangered Mau Forest  ecosystem so that these 2 million youth become advocates for its preservation. This will be developed in collaboration with Danish company GomSpace.

The revenue from advertising is enough to launch 2nd and 3rd cubesat missions in the two subsequent years as Kenya's civilian space program gains traction to compete with the military program that will most likely take root as the cubesat create awareness and inspiration among technocrats.

From all the posts in this forum i realize that the human capacity actually resides all over the place and therefore I am inviting all those who might be interested in supporting this through technical input, fundraising, advocacy, etc to join my fledgling team so that we actualize this and profit from it fast, first.

Interestingly, Nation Media Group has also invited us to pitch this at the next technology funding program 'Next Big Thing' that is planned for September 2012. To present a winning pitch we'll need input from knowledgeable people such as those who have been participating in this forum. We therefore invite all of you who feel that Kenya needs to:

1. Develop technological self-confidence in space technology.
2. inspire a generation of young people by getting us out to the final frontier.
3. Ensure  that a smaller neighbour does not tip technology balance in EA by launching first
4. Benefit from technology spin-offs that come with a vibrant space research sector.

We await responses and would be delighted with positive replies.
Allan

@allquiry
had a peek at http://www.science2030.com/ great work indeed. keep it up.

allquiry wrote:I have been bootstrapping science2030, a Kenyan STEM start-up.

We started with robotics clubs in schools in 2010 and later on got funding from Kenya's National Council for Science & technology (NCST) to develop a prototype low-cost low-altitude balloon that can be used by high schools to prove the concept of 'The Higher You Go The Cooler It Becomes', currently under development in cooperation with Kenya's Meteorological Department's.

Today, we have been invited by Intel Corporation to develop a proposal for a 6-day cansat awareness workshop in early 2013 that will include:

1. A national satellite drawing competition for primary schools
2. A national satellite naming essay competition for secondary schools
3. A cansat assembly and launch participation pitch from universities (only five of the best applicants will be invited to the workshop)

The workshop dovetails into a cubesat mission beginning in 2013 when Kenya commemorates 50 years of independence well behind regional players Nigeria (Western Africa), South Africa (Southern Africa) and Algeria (Northern Africa) all of which have space presence.

Our cubesat mission also incorporates 5 universities each of which will develop a single subsystem of the five subsystems that will be finally integrated into a 3U cubesat. The cubesat will incorporate the following features:

i. A space based advertising platform that will carry 64 logos of Kenya's highest flying brands. Each advertiser will pay Ksh. 2 million. The platform will be developed in collaboration with Swiss-based Micro Camera & Space Exploration (MCSE)

ii. An earth observation camera that will have specially developed overlaying software that all Kenyan school kids can use in comparing the forest cover of the endangered Mau Forest ecosystem so that these 2 million youth become advocates for its preservation. This will be developed in collaboration with Danish company GomSpace.

The revenue from advertising is enough to launch 2nd and 3rd cubesat missions in the two subsequent years as Kenya's civilian space program gains traction to compete with the military program that will most likely take root as the cubesat create awareness and inspiration among technocrats.

From all the posts in this forum i realize that the human capacity actually resides all over the place and therefore I am inviting all those who might be interested in supporting this through technical input, fundraising, advocacy, etc to join my fledgling team so that we actualize this and profit from it fast, first.

Interestingly, Nation Media Group has also invited us to pitch this at the next technology funding program 'Next Big Thing' that is planned for September 2012. To present a winning pitch we'll need input from knowledgeable people such as those who have been participating in this forum. We therefore invite all of you who feel that Kenya needs to:

1. Develop technological self-confidence in space technology.
2. inspire a generation of young people by getting us out to the final frontier.
3. Ensure that a smaller neighbour does not tip technology balance in EA by launching first
4. Benefit from technology spin-offs that come with a vibrant space research sector.

We await responses and would be delighted with positive replies.

Allan

Great Stuff Allan, we should have like 20 of you and today we would be having a constellation of satellites to much China's Beidou or USA's GPS. Count me in on your noble venture.

Thanks for the positive and encouraging comments.

I will be updating science2030 website by adding photographs of our advisers and a short profile on what role they will be playing as we move from concept to actualization.

Sierra kilo and Cylon are already aboard and we invite others who have input for this to assent, provide digital passport photo and a short profile that will include the role they feel they can undertake.

Allan.

Hey Allan,

I am delighted that you guys have decided to embark on this interesting journey and would be more than willing to offer technical advice. We can PM each other further.

Also, in the meantime, checkout Kenya Space Advocacy Group to stay informed and engaged on the subject within the Kenyan context.
Cheers

Dr. Faith Karanja is Senior Lecturer at The Department of Geospatial and Space Technology, University of Nairobi.

She also heads Kenya Outer Space Association (KOSA) that might be pulling at a tangent with Kenya Space Advocacy Group.

The group is still pretty informal but is likely to get funding as they build momentum for UoN students to participate in Mission Idea Contest for Micro/Nano Satellite Utilization.

It might make sense to begin bringing all these diverse players into a more focused approach that harnesses Kenyan civilian participation in space activity and research.

Allan.

Bashir has made some sense for once, shows that Africans are ready to take their place in the league of developed statuses.

Africa needs own space agency: Sudan’s Bashir

Posted by AFP on September 5, 2012




Among its roles, AfriSpace would implement a long-term African space policy/AFP-File

KHARTOUM, Sept 5 – Africa needs its own space research agency, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told a regional conference of communications ministers who met on Wednesday as the continent’s IT sector grows.



“I’m calling for the biggest project, an African space agency,” Bashir said in remarks opening the two-day meeting.

“Africa must have its space agency.”

Known as AfriSpace, it would enable “cooperation among African states in space research and technology and their space applications,” crucial to the continent’s development, says a working document issued for the African Union conference.

When they last met in Nigeria two years ago, ministers asked the AU Commission to conduct a feasibility study for AfriSpace.

At the Khartoum talks they are expected to ask for AU implementation of the study, aiming to provide a “roadmap for the creation of the African Space Agency.”

The working document noted that only “a tiny minority” of countries control space technologies which play a major role in everything from broadcasting to weather forecasting, agriculture, health, and environmental monitoring.

“A common continental approach will allow the sharing of risks and costs and ensure the availability of skilled and sufficient human resources,” the document said.

“It will also ensure a critical size of geographical area and population required in terms of the plan of action for some space applications.”

Among its roles, AfriSpace would implement a long-term African space policy, recommend “space objectives” to member states, and coordinate orbital slots and other space resources, the document said.

Twenty years ago, African nations decided to create the Regional African Satellite Communication Organisation (RASCOM), an intergovernmental commercial agency which in 2007 launched a pan-African telecommunications satellite.

A replacement satellite went into orbit from French Guyana in August 2010 to support health and education projects, broadband connectivity as well as voice, Internet, radio and TV broadcasting, RASCOM said on its website.

Bashir said he is also looking forward to the ministers’ endorsement of a convention on cyber legislation, which would provide guidelines for development of national-level laws.

“I’m calling for the African states to protect and secure all their communications sources,” Bashir said.

Cybercrimes are increasing on the continent as broadband Internet access rises, a conference document said.

“Being wired to the rest of the world means that Africa is now within the perimeter of cybercrime, making the continent’s information systems more vulnerable than ever before,” it said.

Information and communications technology demand is soaring along with the growth in broadband, another conference document said.

“Demand, around 300 gigabits per second in 2009, will reach 6,000 gigabits per second by 2018,” it said.

Fourteen percent of Africa’s population are Internet users but the figure is as high as 30 percent in parts of the continent, Aida Opoku-Mensah, of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, told the meeting.

In comparison, Internet penetration last year was 70 percent in the United Arab Emirates and about 48 percent in Saudi Arabia, according to data from the UN’s International Telecommunication Union.

The AU has applied internationally to use .Africa as an Internet address which it says would be “a distinctive pan-African identification.”

“This is important for Africa,” Elham Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim, the AU’s Commissioner for Infrastructure, told the conference.

A decision is expected next year by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which coordinates online domain names.

Ministers are asked to “urgently” provide written support for the .Africa project, a conference document says, adding 70 percent of Africa’s 54 nations have already given that backing.

Sierra Kilo wrote:Bashir has made some sense for once, shows that Africans are ready to take their place in the league of developed statuses.

Africa needs own space agency: Sudan’s Bashir

Posted by AFP on September 5, 2012




Among its roles, AfriSpace would implement a long-term African space policy/AFP-File

KHARTOUM, Sept 5 – Africa needs its own space research agency, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told a regional conference of communications ministers who met on Wednesday as the continent’s IT sector grows.



“I’m calling for the biggest project, an African space agency,” Bashir said in remarks opening the two-day meeting.

“Africa must have its space agency.”

Known as AfriSpace, it would enable “cooperation among African states in space research and technology and their space applications,” crucial to the continent’s development, says a working document issued for the African Union conference.

When they last met in Nigeria two years ago, ministers asked the AU Commission to conduct a feasibility study for AfriSpace.

At the Khartoum talks they are expected to ask for AU implementation of the study, aiming to provide a “roadmap for the creation of the African Space Agency.”

The working document noted that only “a tiny minority” of countries control space technologies which play a major role in everything from broadcasting to weather forecasting, agriculture, health, and environmental monitoring.

“A common continental approach will allow the sharing of risks and costs and ensure the availability of skilled and sufficient human resources,” the document said.

“It will also ensure a critical size of geographical area and population required in terms of the plan of action for some space applications.”

Among its roles, AfriSpace would implement a long-term African space policy, recommend “space objectives” to member states, and coordinate orbital slots and other space resources, the document said.

Twenty years ago, African nations decided to create the Regional African Satellite Communication Organisation (RASCOM), an intergovernmental commercial agency which in 2007 launched a pan-African telecommunications satellite.

A replacement satellite went into orbit from French Guyana in August 2010 to support health and education projects, broadband connectivity as well as voice, Internet, radio and TV broadcasting, RASCOM said on its website.

Bashir said he is also looking forward to the ministers’ endorsement of a convention on cyber legislation, which would provide guidelines for development of national-level laws.

“I’m calling for the African states to protect and secure all their communications sources,” Bashir said.

Cybercrimes are increasing on the continent as broadband Internet access rises, a conference document said.

“Being wired to the rest of the world means that Africa is now within the perimeter of cybercrime, making the continent’s information systems more vulnerable than ever before,” it said.

Information and communications technology demand is soaring along with the growth in broadband, another conference document said.

“Demand, around 300 gigabits per second in 2009, will reach 6,000 gigabits per second by 2018,” it said.

Fourteen percent of Africa’s population are Internet users but the figure is as high as 30 percent in parts of the continent, Aida Opoku-Mensah, of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, told the meeting.

In comparison, Internet penetration last year was 70 percent in the United Arab Emirates and about 48 percent in Saudi Arabia, according to data from the UN’s International Telecommunication Union.

The AU has applied internationally to use .Africa as an Internet address which it says would be “a distinctive pan-African identification.”

“This is important for Africa,” Elham Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim, the AU’s Commissioner for Infrastructure, told the conference.

A decision is expected next year by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which coordinates online domain names.

Ministers are asked to “urgently” provide written support for the .Africa project, a conference document says, adding 70 percent of Africa’s 54 nations have already given that backing.

I agree with Bashir Countries like Nigeria and South Africa should be working together with other african countries wishing to put payload into space. The best launching sites are in kenya because we are right on the Equator and all the rocket boosters could be recovered offshore pretty easily. Africa should have a working space agency in 20 years

Bashir's idea of a pan-African space agency is good and for a fact the time has come for Africa to claim its place in space.

Provided we can overcome AU's malaise of bureaucracy, lack of agreements on many issue, recurrent lack of funds and competition that will arise from each country wanting to keep develop spy satellite capabilities - the idea is one who's time has come.

Out of this world snaps http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/-/watch/30644172

Very intelligent people Kenyans have various approaches to galvanizing the Kenyan space program and these have been articulated through difffrent forums over the last couple of years.

My take on this is as follows:

1. In Kenya nothing really works unless you have a couple of influential people who will get a percentage of the revenues that emanate from any revolutionary idea - and space research for Kenya would be revolutionary. Bear in mind the even the life changing M-Pesa program had a 5% secret shareholding that is most probably owned by some of the top Kenyan politicians through Mobitelea Ventures Ltd.

It follows that even though getting a satellite out to space would give a tremendous boost to the Kenyan ICT field, technology education sector and national technological self confidence - the overriding consideration would be how much shareholding will powerful players in parliament have in the venture.

2. There are two forces that are difficult to control - Love and Demand & Supply!!
The first one is one that many of us have gone through and can understand since emotions and hormones are at play.

The second one is an economics principle that occurs in real life. It is the rational for that cliched saying "nothing can stop an idea whose time has come". In effect, the time for Kenya to join the table of space-present nations has come and stopping it is virtually impossible. The only consideration that has to be had is how that will be achieved.

Currently, the nation is grappling with industrial actions that will most likely result in the government channeling its limited finances towards manpower wages for teachers and doctors who are crucial in day-to-day life of citizens. Hoping that Ksh. 4 Billion will be apportioned to development and deployment of a single satellite within 2 years is unrealistic to say the least.

It is my opinion that just as many times technology is usually ahead of legislation, Kenyan private sector players and innovators will set up the initial moves toward space presence (demand side) and then the government will smell the coffee and wake up to set up the necessary policies and support programs that are necessary (supply side). The players who will have positioned themselves to act fast first will stand to gain from first-mover advantages that will see them define how this sector develops as long as they can keep churning out creative approaches to getting out there and staying there.

In conclusion I wish to paraphrase a quote Otto Von Bismarck, the man who united small states into the modern German state: he said," The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood".

In my opinion getting Kenya to outer space shall never be achieved by paragraphs of perorations BUT by innovating as crazily as hell; first, fast!!.

Kenyan universities,
flush with cash, are buying up huge amounts of space in virtually all parts of
Kenya to house department for an increasingly degree-conscious population.
Additionally, in this competition for learners there is little product
differentiation with all players simply mimicking what others are doing and in
fact lecturers are moonlighting from player to player since the product on
offer is the same anywhere one goes – a degree after as short a study duration
as possible.


Two factors
come into play as universities compete with each other.

FIRST, in order to differentiate themselves
from each other and attract a higher paying category of student Kenyan
universities have to move higher up the international academic rankings by
attracting talented professors and undertaking forms of research that make them
stand out on the international platform.. One such activity would be space
research which would propel any Kenyan university that was first way up the
annual rankings while at the same time resulting in establishment of an
entirely new department capable of attracting and compensating world-class
professors who would then buttress the academic staff base resulting in still
higher ranking.


SECOND, an
off-shoot of the first factor, is that once a university moved up the rankings
that would be publicity that would signal academic pedigree that would attract
more degree-conscious students and therefore enable a university show good RoI
in the medium term.It therefore would make good business sense to offer a rich university here a proposition that would compel it to buy equity in our planned cubesat mission.

I have a question for the spacemen here...recently learned that solar storms can significantly affect radio signals on earth. Does this mean that on military grade systems like GLONASS, GPS etc they will suffer the same? I'd hate to have a Cruise Missile miss its mark and hit an unintended target.

Hey Jasiri, I'll take this one...

Solar storms or 'geomagnetic storms' are temporary disturbances to the earth's geomagnetic field due to adverse space weather occurrences in the immediate earth vicinity. These occurrences are attributed to uncharacteristic bursts of solar wind (photons, & cloud of charged particles -plasma) ejected from by the sun due to extreme solar activity on the sun surface like a Coronal Mass Ejection.

Interaction of the earth's magnetosphere and the increased solar wind not only forces the magnetosphere to compress on the "windward" side,  but also increases the activity and intensity of plasma trapped within the earth's magnetosphere. This has the effect of intensifying the electromagnetic activity in both the magnetosphere and ionosphere.

Consequently, the integrity and reliability of all types of communication systems that either rely on the ionosphere to bounce signals or propagate their signals through the ionosphere will be highly degraded/distorted. Not only that, this heightened electromagnetic phenomenon may render the ionosphere impregnable by electromagnetic signals negating communication all together.

Consequently, any system relying on reception of a GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO signal will be rendered inoperable during the storm duration. Depending on a system's robustness, inbuilt the level of alternate redundancy or duration of signal interruption; the affected system may or may not attain the mission objectives.

Specifically to your cruise missile question, alternate redundant guidance systems like digital maps, terrain contour mapping, inertia guidance etc are normally incorporated in the design.

On the other hand, these higher energy solar wind particles can damage spacecraft microchips hardware in several ways:

• Single Event Upset - which alters the state of a given electronic node on a chip. This is essentially a software change whose list of repercussions is boundless ranging from nothing to de-orbiting the spacecraft.
  
• Single Event Gate Rapture, Single Event Burnout & Single Event LatchUP - These events physically damage the transistors on the microchips.
  
• Differential charging - a geomagnetic storm may cause the various parts of the spacecraft to be electrically charged differently. Consequently, an unwanted current will flow between the two differentially charged regions damaging the spacecraft hardware.  etc.
  

Luckily, we have the Van-Allen belts (regions within the earth magnetosphere containing trapped solar particles) protecting the earth and most satellites in Low and Medium Earth Orbits like the GPS system. Other measure to mitigate the effects of geomagnetic storms do exist with varying successes effectiveness.


Cheers






 

Hey Jasiri, I'll take this one...

Solar storms or 'geomagnetic
storms' are temporary disturbances to the earth's geomagnetic field due
to adverse space weather occurrences in the immediate earth vicinity.
These occurrences are attributed to uncharacteristic bursts of solar
wind (photons, & cloud of charged particles -plasma) ejected from by
the sun due to extreme solar activity on the sun surface like a Coronal
Mass Ejection.

Interaction of the earth's magnetosphere and the
increased solar wind not only forces the magnetosphere to compress on
the "windward" side, but also increases the activity and intensity of
plasma trapped within the earth's magnetosphere. This has the effect of
intensifying the electromagnetic activity in both the magnetosphere and
ionosphere.

Consequently, the integrity and reliability of all
types of communication systems that either rely on the ionosphere to
bounce signals or propagate their signals through the ionosphere will be
highly degraded/distorted. Not only that, this heightened
electromagnetic phenomenon may render the ionosphere impregnable by
electromagnetic signals negating communication all together.

Consequently,
any system relying on reception of a GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO signal will be
rendered inoperable during the storm duration. Depending on a system's
robustness, inbuilt the level of alternate redundancy or duration of
signal interruption; the affected system may or may not attain the
mission objectives.

Specifically to your cruise missile question,
alternate redundant guidance systems like digital maps, terrain contour
mapping, inertia guidance etc are normally incorporated in the design.

On the other hand, these higher energy solar wind particles can damage spacecraft microchips hardware in several ways:

• Single
  Event Upset - which alters the state of a given electronic node on a
  chip. This is essentially a software change whose list of repercussions
  is boundless ranging from nothing to de-orbiting the spacecraft.
  
• Single
  Event Gate Rapture, Single Event Burnout & Single Event LatchUP -
  These events physically damage the transistors on the microchips.
  
• Differential
  charging - a geomagnetic storm may cause the various parts of the
  spacecraft to be electrically charged differently. Consequently, an
  unwanted current will flow between the two differentially charged
  regions damaging the spacecraft hardware. etc.
  

Luckily, we
have the Van-Allen belts (regions within the earth magnetosphere
containing trapped solar particles) protecting the earth and most
satellites in Low and Medium Earth Orbits like the GPS system. Other
measure to mitigate the effects of geomagnetic storms do exist with
varying successes effectiveness.


Cheers

So this solar storm only disrupts signal but does not fry components?

Jasiri,

Oh, it does fry components. This is what this means....

• Single Event Gate Rapture, Single Event Burnout & Single Event
  LatchUP - These events physically damage the transistors on the
  microchips.
  
• Differential charging - a geomagnetic storm may
  cause the various parts of the spacecraft to be electrically charged
  differently. Consequently, an unwanted current will flow between the two
  differentially charged regions damaging the spacecraft hardware. etc.
  

Components on space platforms are designed to withstand this "frying" through radiation hardening that's why they are resilient. But they are not absolutely immune to this threat.

Further, the extreme solar activity that ejects increased particles intensity occurs in 11-year cycles. Consequently, this is not a permanently present threat.

Components on terrestrial platforms e.g aircraft, missiles, etc are not radiation hardened and are hence vulnerable to severe geomagnetic storms that 'leak' into the lower atmosphere.

This goes to Cylon and Sierra Kilo. The former started a post about need for a Kenyan space sat, the latter made very encouraging comments that enable me regain momentum at a time i was beginning to lose faith in a Kenyan satellite.

Guys, today I am in the process of completing my team that will work on getting Kenya's first educational satellite into space. Since I first posted a comment about this I've learned the following:

1. In space research, the idea is the capital, the rest are just details.
2. It takes a special kind of madness to move from theory to particals when it comes to gaining presence in space.
3. Don't argue endlessly, save the energy you'd expend in just doing it.
4. Believe in yourself - of course it helps a lot if you have guys like Cylon and Sierra Kilo to add fuel to your burning ambitions.

Cheers and keep the faith.

koko wrote:This goes to Cylon and Sierra Kilo. The former started a post about need for a Kenyan space sat, the latter made very encouraging comments that enable me regain momentum at a time i was beginning to lose faith in a Kenyan satellite.

Guys, today I am in the process of completing my team that will work on getting Kenya's first educational satellite into space. Since I first posted a comment about this I've learned the following:

1. In space research, the idea is the capital, the rest are just details.
2. It takes a special kind of madness to move from theory to particals when it comes to gaining presence in space.
3. Don't argue endlessly, save the energy you'd expend in just doing it.
4. Believe in yourself - of course it helps a lot if you have guys like Cylon and Sierra Kilo to add fuel to your burning ambitions.

Cheers and keep the faith.

seems Kenya's Jubilee year will have a nice birthday present.

koko wrote:This goes to Cylon and Sierra Kilo. The former started a post about need for a Kenyan space sat, the latter made very encouraging comments that enable me regain momentum at a time i was beginning to lose faith in a Kenyan satellite.

Guys, today I am in the process of completing my team that will work on getting Kenya's first educational satellite into space. Since I first posted a comment about this I've learned the following:

1. In space research, the idea is the capital, the rest are just details.
2. It takes a special kind of madness to move from theory to particals when it comes to gaining presence in space.
3. Don't argue endlessly, save the energy you'd expend in just doing it.
4. Believe in yourself - of course it helps a lot if you have guys like Cylon and Sierra Kilo to add fuel to your burning ambitions.

Cheers and keep the faith.

We are moving people!!!
Just the other day there was an article on TV about a guy from the Multimedia University who designed a drone and was able to operate it. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a few baby steps. Keep it up Koko!!

koko bro, wats the progress onthe satlite man and wat will be its capabilities? completion time? this abigone aiseee