Rdokoye
May 2nd, 2007, 02:13 AM
Nigeria gets first African space centre
From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja
HISTORY was made yesterday in Abuja as Nigeria's dream of becoming the hub of space technology development in Africa received a boost with President Olusegun Obasanjo commissioning the Nigerian Space Centre (NSC).
The centre, said to be the first space centre in Africa, has a ground control station/ network operation centre for communications satellites; houses the ground receiving station for earth observation satellites; and contains the first phase of the Satellite Design Centre/Satellite Assembly, Integration and Test Centre, a multipurpose Conference Centre (under construction) and a Planetarium (under construction).
Some of the ancillary facilities include the utility sub-station and police station.
The centre also houses the administrative building and serves as permanent site for the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), among others.
The President, who noted that the establishment of the National Space Technology Centre was critical to the development of space technology in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, maintained that it would assist greatly in realising the country's aspirations in space science and technology.
He said the event marked another milestone in the country's quest to optimise the use of science and technology to promote sustainable national development and improved quality of life for the people.
Noting that space technology is key to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals and the objectives of "our holistic reform agenda as encapsulated in the NEEDS document, he stated: "It guarantees the availability and speedy access to real-time data and geo-spatial information, as well as the availability of relevant infrastructure and backbone for information communication."
He assured that Nigeria remained committed to the Millennium Development Goals, adding that this commitment had
spurred his administration towards embarking on programmes and initiatives that would effectively address the challenges of poverty, food security, infrastructure development, sustainable energy, affordable health and housing, and protection from natural and man-induced disasters.
He continued: "It is imperative therefore to integrate space technology applications into the various stages of our sustainable development efforts.
"The Federal Government took a bold step by embarking on satellite systems development through the establishment of the National Space Research and Development Agency in 1999 and the approval of the National Space Policy and Programme in 2001. This effort resulted in the launch of the first earth observation satellite, NigeriaSat-1, in September 2003.
"By this unique achievement, Nigeria has registered not only its footprint in space but also its name as a satellite data provider. I am informed that the satellite is performing well and has captured over 2,000 images covering the entire country and different parts of the world. I am pleased to note that
NigeriaSat-1 imagery has been variously applied to tackle some of our socio-economic problems."
He listed such areas of intervention to include Fadama rice production, cassava yield prediction, natural resources management, settlement mapping and transportation planning, gully erosion mitigation, desertification early warning, deforestation monitoring and Niger Delta environmental change monitoring.
Director-General, National Space Research and Development Agency, Prof. Robert Ajayi Boroffice, announced at the occasion that the first Nigerian Communication Satellite (NigComSat-1) project, a critical ICT infrastructure backbone for the entire African continent, would be launched from Xi Chang Launch Centre in China on May 14, 2007.
From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja
HISTORY was made yesterday in Abuja as Nigeria's dream of becoming the hub of space technology development in Africa received a boost with President Olusegun Obasanjo commissioning the Nigerian Space Centre (NSC).
The centre, said to be the first space centre in Africa, has a ground control station/ network operation centre for communications satellites; houses the ground receiving station for earth observation satellites; and contains the first phase of the Satellite Design Centre/Satellite Assembly, Integration and Test Centre, a multipurpose Conference Centre (under construction) and a Planetarium (under construction).
Some of the ancillary facilities include the utility sub-station and police station.
The centre also houses the administrative building and serves as permanent site for the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), among others.
The President, who noted that the establishment of the National Space Technology Centre was critical to the development of space technology in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, maintained that it would assist greatly in realising the country's aspirations in space science and technology.
He said the event marked another milestone in the country's quest to optimise the use of science and technology to promote sustainable national development and improved quality of life for the people.
Noting that space technology is key to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals and the objectives of "our holistic reform agenda as encapsulated in the NEEDS document, he stated: "It guarantees the availability and speedy access to real-time data and geo-spatial information, as well as the availability of relevant infrastructure and backbone for information communication."
He assured that Nigeria remained committed to the Millennium Development Goals, adding that this commitment had
spurred his administration towards embarking on programmes and initiatives that would effectively address the challenges of poverty, food security, infrastructure development, sustainable energy, affordable health and housing, and protection from natural and man-induced disasters.
He continued: "It is imperative therefore to integrate space technology applications into the various stages of our sustainable development efforts.
"The Federal Government took a bold step by embarking on satellite systems development through the establishment of the National Space Research and Development Agency in 1999 and the approval of the National Space Policy and Programme in 2001. This effort resulted in the launch of the first earth observation satellite, NigeriaSat-1, in September 2003.
"By this unique achievement, Nigeria has registered not only its footprint in space but also its name as a satellite data provider. I am informed that the satellite is performing well and has captured over 2,000 images covering the entire country and different parts of the world. I am pleased to note that
NigeriaSat-1 imagery has been variously applied to tackle some of our socio-economic problems."
He listed such areas of intervention to include Fadama rice production, cassava yield prediction, natural resources management, settlement mapping and transportation planning, gully erosion mitigation, desertification early warning, deforestation monitoring and Niger Delta environmental change monitoring.
Director-General, National Space Research and Development Agency, Prof. Robert Ajayi Boroffice, announced at the occasion that the first Nigerian Communication Satellite (NigComSat-1) project, a critical ICT infrastructure backbone for the entire African continent, would be launched from Xi Chang Launch Centre in China on May 14, 2007.