Kenya’s first Earth Observation satellite, Taifa -1 (one Nation in Swahili), was launched with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on 15 April, 2023.
A microsatellite with multiplespectral imagers, Taifa -1 was among 51 satellites in the launch in which Turkey’s 800 kg Earth Observation satellite was the primary payload.
The launch was delayed three times in a week due to bad weather.
Kenya’s Space Agency says the satellite was built by a Bulgarian space company, Endurosat, with the assistance of nine Kenyan engineers and scientists at a cost of $371,000.
This is Kenya’s second satellite. The first was a cubesat, 1 KUN-PF, weighing 1kg (2.2 lb), launched in 2018 into a 400 kilometre orbit from the International Space Station.
Taifa -1 is seen as a national source of pride in Kenya and will provide remote sensing data for agricultural and environmental purposes for the country which is facing three years of drought.
