Uganda is set to join the community of few countries in Africa that launched a satellite into space with cabinet approving a proposal to build a satellite station in the country.
ICT Minister, Judith Nabakooba revealed on Wednesday that cabinet had reached the decision in order to develop Uganda’s space capabilities.
“Cabinet sitting on the 22nd of March 2021 approved the proposal to build a Satellite Station in Uganda with the main objective of developing Uganda’s space capabilities in a well-coordinated and harmonized manner.,” Nabakooba said.
She added that it was taken for, “Improved application of Space Science and Technology to the Social, Economic, Political and Environmental needs of the country while ensuring that Uganda also becomes a significant user and player of the outer space; and increased Human Resource capacity to facilitate the development of Space Technology in the Country.”
In 2019, President, Yoweri Museveni pushed for space technology research with Russia after a meeting with delegates from the Russian-Uganda Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Science and Technical Cooperation in June.
A month earlier, Museveni held another bilateral meeting with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin and different leaders of Russia and Africa exploring partnerships in areas of space science and technology during the 2019 Russia-Africa summit.
Uganda’s plans to launch a national space program with the launch of its first satellite in 2022, were confirmed by Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, the Ugandan Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation at the 2019 World Science Day which held in Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Then, Basil Ajir, the Director of Technopreneurship at the Ugandan Ministry of Science said issues around meteorology, defence, communications, and agriculture are being considered for the mission of the proposed satellite and the country is working with Egypt, Isreal, Japan, and Russia on this project.
