The first satellite of KAMPALA Uganda was successfully launched from the International Space Station ISS and the East African nation's ground controllers were in contact with the device, the government said on Friday.
The PearlAfricaSat-1 spacecraft was launched by NASA to the ISS on November 7, alongside Zimbabwe's ZimSat-1 spacecraft, which officials say it will help Uganda monitor weather and disasters, map its mineral wealth and generate other crucial data.
Today, at 1045 EAT Uganda's first satellite PearlAfricaSat 1 was deployed from the International Space Station, Monica Musenero Musanza, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, said in a statement.
She said Uganda's ground station, located in Mukono district, is about 25 kilometres 15 miles east of the capital Kampala, is now in communication with our satellite. The satellite was developed by three Ugandan engineers in Japan, with technical assistance from the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan.
President Yoweri Museveni said he wanted to develop the country's technological capacity to cope with challenges in sectors such as agriculture, security and natural resource management.
Critics say that the satellite programme is a vanity project for a country struggling with problems like poor transport and health infrastructure.